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Maine Agricultural Experiment Station 

ORONO 
CHAS. D. WOODS, Director 



APPLE TREE INSECTS OF MAINE 






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MAINE 

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 

ORONO, MAINE. 

CHAS. D. WOODS, Director 



APPLE TREE INSECTS OF MAINE. 
Edith M. Patch, 
O. A. Johannsen. 

Before it is possible to combat an insect pest intelligently we 
must learn something of its habits and of its vulnerable points. 
When these are known proper remedial measures may then be 
taken for its extermination or repression. To meet the needs, 
of those who wish to learn something of the commoner injuri- 
ous insects which affect the apple tree and its fruit this circular 
has been prepared. It is a compilation largely from the Ento- 
mological bulletins and circulars of the Maine Agricultural Ex- 
periment Station. We desire to acknowledge the use also of 
publications of the United States Department of Agriculture 
and of other sources. 

There are very many different species of insects ranging in 
size from less than 1-50 of an .inch to about 8 inches in length. 
From the United States alone over 30,000 species have been 
recorded of which over 400 are known to affect in greater or 
less degree the apple tree or its fruit. Though there are many 
that are, it must not be supposed that all insects are injurious 
for by far the larger number are either harmless or actually 
beneficial. Ruthless destruction of insects by means of trap 
lanterns and the like is to be deprecated since these methods 



are as apt to capture the beneficial and the harmless as the 
injurious. Poisons, traps, and other repressive measures must 
be used with caution, and at the right time and place in order 
to be most effective. 

Though technical terms will be avoided in this circular when 
possible, it may not be out of place here to explain the few 
which it will be necessary to use in the descriptive matter which 
is to follow. 

Though differing in many particulars all insects possess a 
segmented body which in the adult stage is arranged in three 
regions, head, thorax or midbody, and abdomen or hind body. 
The thorax in the adult is provided with 3 pairs of legs and may 
be either winged or wingless. 

Some insects (e. g., grasshoppers) after emerging from the 
egg gradually increase in size until they reach maturity but 
without undergoing any abrupt change in external appearance 
except in the acquisition of wings. Others, however, pass 
through 4 distinct stages, viz., egg, larva (caterpillar, or grub 
or maggot), chrysalis or pupa (often enclosed in a cocoon) 
and the imago or mature insect. After the insect has acquired 
wings it is mature and no longer increases in size. Thus a small 
beetle is not the young of a larger one, nor is a small fly the 
early stage of one of greater magnitude. 

Insects are divided into a number of natural groups or orders 
by which they are known in technical literature and not infre- 
quently in popular accounts also. The Orthoptera are four 
winged; the first pair are thickened and partly overlap when at 
rest ; the second pair are thinner and are folded in plaits like 
a fan. The mouth parts are formed for biting. To this order 
belong the cockroaches, crickets and grasshoppers. The N cu- 
re ptcr aids include the dragon flies (popularly known as darn- 
in- needles), May flies, stone flies and the like. The only in- 
sects which are rightly called "bugs" are the Hemiptera, crea- 
tures of various shapes, having jointed beaks adapted for pierc- 
ir.g and sucking. Plant lice (figs. 31, 32), scale insects (figs. 
3, 4). bed bugs, plant bugs (fig. 28), etc., belong to this order. 
The butterflies and moths, scaly winged insects, are classed as 
Lepidoptera. These arc harmless to vegetation in the adult 
stage, hut many species in the larval (caterpillar) stage, then 
provided with biting mouth parts, are among our most destruc- 



tive pests. The codling (fig. 40), gypsy, brown-tail and other 
moths are well known examples. The Diptcra to which the 
mosquito, apple maggot (fig. 24), and house or typhoid fly be- 
long, are two-winged when mature. The larva of the mosquito, 
so common in a rain water barrel, is known as a wriggler, while 
the corresponding form of the fly is known as a maggot. The 
plum curculio (figs. 25-27), the apple tree borer (figs. 1, 2), 
the blundering June beetle, and the potato beetle are members 
of the Coleoptera, insects having hard, shell-like fore wings 
which meet in a longitudinal line along the middle of the back. 
Both the larva? (known as grubs) and the adults have biting 
mouth parts and in some species are equally concerned in the 
destruction of plants. Some lady beetles on the other hand 
are beneficial because they feed on small injurious insects such 
as scales and aphids. Ants, bees, wasps, a host of species of 
minute 4-winged parasitic flies, as well as some injurious saw- 
flies are members of the order Hymcnoptera, the adults of 
which are four winged. The larvae, most of which are known 
as grubs or maggots, usually have well developed heads with 
biting mouth parts and frequently provided with legs. 

While the foregoing classification is adopted in most text 
books, it is more convenient in dealing with the species of the 
apple to arrange them in accordance with the character of the 
injury they cause and to this end we will first divide Them into 
3 primary groups. 

A. Injuring root, trunk or branch ; borers and sap feeders. 
Page 3. 

AA. Injuring the foliage; biting or sucking injects. 
Page 13. 

AAA. Injuring the fruit; maggots, caterpillars, bugs and 
beetles. Page 46. 

A. INJURING ROOT, TRUNK, OR BRANCH, 
a. Borers in the wood. 

1. A large white grub about 1 inch long when grown, w'th 

brown head ; thorax not much thicker than the abdomen. 
Bores mainly at the base of the trunk. Its presence is 
indicated by the wood dust it throws out of its burrow, 
(fig. 1). Round-headed borers. Page 4. 

2. A whitish grub about y 2 inch long when grown, with flat- 

tened thorax about twice as wide as the abdomen. Works 
on the trunk and large branches, (fig. 2). 

Flat-headed borers. Page 7 



3. A very small larva which lives in small rounded "shot holes" 
about 1-16 inch in diameter. Adults are small brown 
beetles. Shot-borer beetle. Page 8. 

Scale insects and plant lire. 

1. Scale about 1-10 inch long on twigs; shaped like oyster 

shell, (fig. 3). Oyster-shell scale. Page 0. 

2. A small rounded scale, (fig. 4). 

San Jose scale. Page 10. 

3. Plant lice with white downy secretion ; cause wart-like swell- 

ings on roots, and also are found on the twigs, (figs 
34, 35). Woolly aphis. Page 12. 



a. BORERS IN THE WOOD. 

1. Round-Headed Apple-Tree Borer. 

(Saperda Candida Fab.) 






b c 

Fig. 1; a, larva; b, pupa; c. adult. (After Riley). 

The first intimation that the grower may have of the presence 
of this borer in his trees, unless he be forewarned, is in their 
retarded growth and the sawdust-like castings, consisting of 
excrementitious matter and gnawings of woody fiber, which the 
larvae extrude from the openings into their burrows. This man- 
ifestation is usually accompanied by more or less evident dis- 
coloration of the bark and, in early spring particularly, by slight 
exudation of sap. 

The parent of this borer is a beautiful beetle, measuring from 
three-fourths to nearly an inch in length, the male being per- 
ceptibly narrower than the female. The legs are gray, the 
under surface of the bod)' and the head are silvery white, and 
the upper surface is light yellowish brown with two longitudinal 
white stripes extending through the thorax and elytra or wing- 
covers to the tip, as is shown in the accompanying figure I, c. 



The larva, when mature, measures from three-fourths to a 
little over an inch in length. It is legless, fleshy, and somewhat 
grub-like in appearance, cylindrical in form, and light yellow in 
color. The head is darker. 

The pupa, illustrated at b, is nearly as long as the adult insect, 
which it resembles in a superficial manner, the head being bent 
down toward the breast, and the legs and long antennae folded 
upon the ventral surface. Its color is similar to that of the 
larva. 

The beetles make their first appearance of the season late in 
May or in June, according to locality. During the night they 
come forth from the trunks of the trees in which they have bred. 
and at this time may be seen in flight. 

Soon after their first appearance the sexes mate and eggs 
are deposited. The female first makes an incision in the bark — 
probably by means of her mandibles — causing it to split slightly; 
then, turning head upward, she places an egg under the bark 
nearly a quarter of an inch from the incision, accompanying the 
deposition by the extrusion of "a gummy fluid which covers 
and secures it to its place and usually fills up the aperture. In 
young trees with tender bark the egg is usually thoroughly hid- 
den, while in older trees it is sometimes so shallowly imbedded 
as to be readily seen." 

The larvae, soon after hatching, tunnel under the bark and feed 
on the sap-wood, gradually working their way upward and 
afterwards downward, usually remaining within a short dis- 
tance of, or below the surface of, the ground, particularly in 
young trees. By the end of the second year the larvae have 
increased considerably in size and have now penetrated deeper 
into the solid heart-wood, their burrows being closely packed 
behind them with castings. The third year the larvae gnaw 
outward to the bark, form a pupal cell composed partly of their 
castings and, with their heads pointing toward the bark, trans- 
form to pupae. With the approach of May and June they cut 
their way out by means of their powerful manibles and issue 
through a round hole as mature beetles. 

METHODS OF CONTROL. 

After borers have once entered a tree there is no better 
remedy known than to cut them out with a knife or other sharp 
instrument. Cutting the borers out, unless practiced with the 



greatest care, is apt to result in injury, and it is far better to 
prevent the parent insects from depositing their eggs upon the 
tree. This is not difficult of accomplishment, as oviposition is 
practically confined to two months in any single locality, usually 
June and July. The best preventives are impenetrable sub- 
stances placed about the trunk and various washes of a repellent 
nature. 

For this a few thicknesses of newspaper wrapped rather 
loosely about the trunk and extending about two feet from the 
base are all that is necessary. This covering should be tied, by 
preference with cord, which will readily yield or break with the 
natural expansion of the tree in its growth, and also be tightly 
fastened at top and bottom and hilled up with earth so that the 
beetles cannot obtain access to the tree from below. From the 
top of this covering upward it is best to use some deterrent alka- 
line or carbolated wash. 

Any one of several washes in general use against boring in- 
sects may be used as a deterrent. A good alkaline wash is pre- 
pared of soft soap reduced to the consistency of thick paint by 
the addition of caustic potash or washing soda in solution. A 
good fish-oil, or whale-oil soap, or common soft soap, is often 
used, and in some cases any one of these is sufficient to deter the 
insects from depositing their eggs. The alkaline wash may be 
carbolated, if desired, by the addition of crude carbolic acid, 
at the rate of i pint to every 10 gallons of the wash. Such a 
wash not only affords protection against this and other borers, 
but against scale and fungous diseases at these points, and is, 
moreover, of positive benefit to the tree. Caustic potash fish- 
oil soaps are among the best for insecticides. 



2. FEAT-HEADED ApPLE-TrEE BORER. 

(Chrysobothris femorata Fab.) 





6 c 

Fig. 2; a, larva; b, pupa; c, adult. (After Riley). 

The adult insect (represented at c, fig. 2), measures from a 
little less to a little more than a half inch in length. It is flat- 
tened above, the upper surface of the body is dark metallic 
brown, and fresh specimens are coated here and there with a 
powdery gray substance, which is easily rubbed off. The wing- 
covers are ornamented as shown in the illustration, and under- 
neath, as may be seen when the insect is in flight, the body is a 
bright metallic greenish blue. The under surface is coppery 
bronze. 

The larva differs greatly from that of the round-headed borer. 
Its name, flat-headed borer, is derived from the peculiar flat 
expansion of the second thoracic segment — which is close to 
the head. In color it is light yellow and in length measures 
nearly twice that of the mature insect. It habitually rests in 
a curved position (fig. 2, a). The pupa (b) shows the form of 
the future beetle and is of the same yellow color as the larva. 

This borer attacks diseased or dying trees by preference, in- 
habits all parts of a tree from the base of the trunk to the limbs, 
and is not restricted to fruit trees. In all these respects it differs 
from the round-headed borer, but agrees with the latter in that 
it is injurious chiefly to young trees, its injuries being practi- 
cally confined to newly transplanted nursery stock and to trees 
which have been weakened through any cause, such as careless 
pruning, or insufficient nourishment due to poor soil or drought. 
Infestation may be detected by the discoloration of the bark- 

REMEDIES. 

The remedies advised for the round-headed borer are also of 
value and are generally employed against the present species. 
It is necessary, however, that deterrent coverings and washes 



8 

should be applied farther up the trunk and to as many branches 
as can be conveniently reached. 

Careful cultural methods. — Careful, clean methods of orchard 
management are essential as a measure of protection, and in- 
volve the cutting- out of dead, dying, and injured deciduous 
forest and shade as well as orchard trees known to be chosen as 
food by this species. Care should be exercised in transplant- 
ing, and especially in pruning ; and fertilizers should be used 
in order that the trees may be thrifty and better able to with- 
stand attack. Proper regard for these measures should give 
practical exemption from injury. 

3. Shot-Borer. 
(Xyleborus dispar.) 

The female beetles bore into the wood, making deep channels 
which in small twigs interfere with the circulation of the sap, 
and the twigs wither, giving the appearance of blight. The 
exit holes through the bark are .06 of an inch in diameter and 
nearly circular, looking like small shot holes. The wood is 
green, showing that the insect attacks the growing tree. Liv- 
ing wood does not appear to be essential to the life and comfort 
of this species, for after a period of several weeks we found 
in a limb that had been in a dry place in a box, young larvae, 
lull grown pupae, and perfect beetles. 

When the larvae are full grown they transform to pupae in 
the burrows, and finally emerge as small beetles about one-tenth 
of an inch long and of a dark brown or nearly black color, with 
the antennae and legs of a rusty red. The thorax is short, very 
convex, rounded and roughened. The wing covers are marked 
by longitudinal rows of punctures. The hind part of the body 
slopes abruptly. The beetles leave their burrows in June and 
July and deposit eggs before August. 

REMEDIES. 

As the beetles work win ill}- under the bark they cannot be 
reached by insecticides. The only way is to watch the trees 
during the latter part of June and July and, if blighted twigs 
or diseased limbs are noticed, examine the branches for small 
pin holes; if found, the presence of this or some related species 
may he suspected. The diseased limb should at once be cut 



far enough below the injury to include all the burrows, and 
burned, to prevent the beetles emerging and attacking new trees. 
As these beetles live in forest trees, orchards near timber are 
more liable to become infested. 

b. SCALE IXSECTS AXD PLANT-LICE. 

i. Oyster-Shell Scale. 

(Lcpidosaphcs ulmi.) 
Tbis scale, which resembles an elongate oyster shell in shape 
(fig. 3, b) has long been known in this country, though believed 
to be a native of Europe. It is widely distributed and is ex- 
ceedingly abundant in Maine. Besides seriously injuring apple 
trees, the twigs of which often densely covered by them, they 
are found on the pear, plum, currant, dogwood, elm, maple and 
a number of other trees and shrubs. 




Fig. 3. Oyster-shell Scale, a, female scale from below, showing eggs ; 
b, same from above greatly enlarged ; d, male scale enlarged ; c, female 
scales on twig, natural size, e, male scales natural size. (From year 
book, 1894 U. S. Dept. Agr.) 



In June the eggs hatch, the active young appearing as small 
v. bite specks which soon attach themselves to new shoots by 



IO 

their beaks. The scale then begins to form, gradually increas- 
ing in size. The scale of the female (fig. 3, a, b, c) is less than 
one-eighth of an inch long, narrow, usually curved when not 
crowded, (fig. 3, c) and nearly the same color as the bark upon 
which it is found. The scale of the male (fig. 3, d) is much 
smaller, less curved and usually not found on fruit trees. As 
with the San Jose scale the adult male is provided with both 
wings and legs while the female, remaining under the scale, has 
neither. 

REMEDIES. 

This insect is quite resistant to the application of sprays 
unless it be put on at the time when the young appear, before 
the formation of the scale. This is about the middle of June, 
though the exact date cannot be given as it varies with latitude 
and temperature. As soon as the young larvae are observed the 
trees should be sprayed with soap solution (Formula 7), kero- 
sene emulsion (Formula 4), or whale-oil soap solution (For- 
mula 6), repeating if possible a week later. The kerosene 
emulsion should be put on in sunshiny weather and care should 
be exercised not to use an excess amount, lest the tree be injured. 

2. San Jose Scale. 

(Aspidotus perniciosus.) 

The San Jose which is one of the worst insect pests of 
orchards in other states was discovered in the town of Lim- 
erick. Maine, in 1909. As there is always a danger of its 
introduction upon nursery stock from neighboring states, the 
observation of small circular scales about the diameter of a 
pin head ( fig. 4) upon the twigs of fruit trees should imme- 
diately be reported. 






Fig. 4. a, Female, scale removed; b, cluster of scales; c, female scale; 
all greatly enlarged. (After Felt.) 



II 

The female scale is circular in outline, grayish or blackish 
in color, and when examined under a lens will be seen to be 
somewhat raised above the bark especially in the center where 
there is a little prominence. When the scale is somewhat rubbed 
the center portion appears yellowish, around which the con- 
centric circles, representing lines of growth, may be seen (fig, 
4, c). The full grown male scale is elongated, the prominence 
near one end and the lines of formation eccentric instead of 
concentric. If the scale be lifted by means of a needle, there 
will be seen a little yellowish body; the insect proper (fig. 4, a). 
The newly born insect of both sexes possess eyes, legs, antennae 
and mouth parts, and crawl about for a few hours upon twigs. 
When a suitable place is found they settle, insert their long 
beaks through the bark and begin to suck the plant juice. The 
scale begins to form even before the young insect becomes 
fixed, and is at first pale grayish yellow, gradually becoming 
darker, the central projection usually remaining lighter colored. 
The insect under the scale now loses legs and antennae, the 
female also losing her eyes. Later the male scale assumes an 
elongate oval shape, and later still, 3 or 4 weeks after birth, it 
again undergoes a transformation and appears as a mature insect 
with legs, antennae, eyes and wings. The female matures in 
5 or 6 weeks, remaining fixed in position under the scale, leg- 
less and wingless. There are several generations each season. 

REMEDIES. 

While there are a number of insect parasites which are natural 
enemies of the scale, chief reliance must be placed upon fumi- 
gation and spraying early in the spring before growth begins 
to keep it under control. Miscible oils, kerosene emulsions 
(Formula 4), and lime and sulphur washes (Formula 10) are 
all to be recommended for sprays, while nursery stock imported 
from localities known to be infested should be fumigated. Com- 
plete directions for spraying and fumigating will be found in 
Farmers' Bulletin 127, "Important Insecticides: Directions for 
their Preparation and Use," and "San Jose Scale," Circular 
42, Second Series, Division of Entomology. These papers may 
be obtained upon request by addressing "United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C." 



12 



3. Woolly Aphis op thl Apple. 
(Schizoneura lanigera Hausmann.) 

Throughout the summer on the lower portion of the trunk 
and particularly on the water sprouts of the apple may often 
be seen small bluish-white flocculent or cottony patches, which 
indicate the presence of colonies of one of the worst enemies of 
the apple, viz., the insect known as woolly aphis (fig. 34). 

Jt exists in two forms, the one just referred to, above ground 
on the trunk or water shoots, and another inhabiting the roots. 
On the roots its attacks induce enlargements or galls or swell- 
ings, and in the cracks of these galls and swellings the root 
form occurs in clustered masses. The injury to the trees is 
due both to the sucking up and exhaustion of the vital plant 
juices and to the poisoning of the parts attacked, as indicated 
by the consequent abnormal growths. 

The damage is particularly serious in the case of nursery 
stock and young trees and is less often important after the tree 
has once become well established and of some size. Where 
this insect is abundant all the roots of a young tree to the depth 
of a foot or so become clubbed and knotted by the growth of 
hard fibrous enlargements (fig. 35) with the results in a year 
or two of the dying of the rootlets and their ultimate decompo- 
sition with attendant disappearance of the galls and also of the 
lice, so that after this stage is reached the cause of the injury 
is often obscure. On the trunks the presence of the lice some- 
times results in the roughening of the bark or a granulated 
condition which is particularly noticeable about the collar and 
at the forks of branches or on the fresh growth around the 
scars caused by pruning, which latter is a favorite location. On 
the water shoots, they collect particularly in the axils of the 
leaves, often eventually causing them to fall, and on the tender 
greener side of the stems. The damage above ground, though 
commonly insignificant, is useful as an indication of the prob- 
able existence of the lice on the roots. A badly attacked tree 
assumes a sickly appearance and does not make satisfactory 
grow tli, and the leaves become dull and yellowish, and even if 
not killed outright it is so weakened that it becomes especially 
snbjeet to the attacks of borers and other insect enemies. 



13 

The common forms both on the roots and above ground are 
wingless lice, not exceeding one-tenth of an inch in length, and 
of a reddish-brown color, and abundantly covered, especially 
in the aerial form, with a flocculent waxy excretion. 

In October or November, among the wingless ones, numbers 
of winged individuals appear, which are also all females, and 
are the parents of a true sexed generation of minute, wingless 
lice, the females of which give birth to a single "winter egg." 
This egg is attached within a crevice of the bark. 

The winged females appear somewhat abundantly in autumn, 
and are one of the means of the dispersal of the insect. They 
are very minute, clear-winged, gnat-like objects, greenish- 
brown, almost black in color, with the body covered with more 
or less of the cottony excretion. 

REMEDIES AND PREVENTIVES. 

The foregoing account of the habits and characteristics of 
the woolly aphis will enable us to suggest certain measures to 
control it. The aerial form presents no especial difficulty, and 
can be very readily exterminated by the use of any of the 
washes recommended for plant-lice, such as kerosene emulsion, 
tobacco decoction, a strong soap wash (Formulas 4, 8, 6), etc., 
the only care necessary being to see that the wash is put on 
with sufficient force and thoroughness to penetrate the cover- 
ing and protecting cottony excretion. If the wash be applied 
warm, its penetration will be considerably increased. 

The much more important root form, however, is more diffi- 
cult to reach and exterminate. The common recommendations 
are of applications of strong soap or tobacco washes to the soil 
about the crown, or soot, ashes, or tobacco dust buried about the 
roots ; also similarly employed are lime and gas-lime." 

Badly infested nursery stock should be destroyed, since it 
would be worth little even with the aphides removed. 

AA. INJURING THE FOLIAGE. 
(Divisions a, b, c, and d). 
a. Plant lice, small greenish, blackish or reddish lice-like sucking 
insects. 

1. Greenish plant lice in colonies causing leaf curl. (fig. 33). 

Green apple-aphis. Page 16. 

2. Reddish plant lice in colonies causing leaf curl. 

Rosy aphis. Page 17. 



14 

Insects feeding freely upon the leaves without a nest and not con- 
cealed within leaf or bud. 

i. A "measuring worm" or looping caterpillar, when grown 
about i inch long; olive green when young, becoming yel- 
lowish or brownish when grown ; with brownish longitudi- 
nal stripes and white band on sides; under side pale or 
flesh colored, (figs. 5, 6). 

I. With 2 pairs of legs at rear of body. 

Spring canker Worm. Page 18. 
II. With 3 pairs of legs at rear of body. 

Fall canker worm. Page 19. 

2. Very large hairless green caterpillar, 4 inches long when 

grown; body with several red, yellow and blue bead-like 
tubercles, (fig. 7). Cecropia caterpillar. Page 21. 

3. A large black and yellow longitudinally striped caterpillar 

with yellow neck; very sparsely covered with long soft 
hairs, (fig. 9). Yellow-necked caterpillar. Page 22. 

4. A caterpillar with black, white and yellow longitudinal 

stripes ; head and fourth body segment bright red , with 
a number of stiff, blunt black spines, (fig. 10). 

Red-humped Caterpillar. Page 23. 

5. A smooth mottled caterpillar ; grayish brown above, gray- 

green beneath with yellow head. (fig. 55). 

Mottled fruit caterpillar. Page 24. 

6. Smooth greenish caterpillar \ x / 2 inches long when grown, 

with various colored blotches and marks on the back, 
(fig. 11). Saddled prominent. Page 25. 

7. Very small smooth greenish yellow caterpillars (V2 inch or 

less), feeding upon upper surface of leaf. (fig. 14). 

Apple-leaf Bucculatrix. Page 27. 

8. Hairy caterpillar with four white humps of hair on the 

back, and black pencils of hair on head and tail. (fig. 15). 
I. Head red. White-marked tussock. Page 28. 

II. Head black. Antique tussock. Page 28. 

9. Hairy caterpillar ; ground color bluish with a single line of 

white dots on the back. (fig. 16). 

Forest tent caterpillar. Page 30. 

10. Hairy caterpillar, ground color brownish, with broken white 

stripes on each side when full grown ; the young are in 
winter nests, they are brownish with 2 reddish dots on 
back. Brown-tail. Page 32. 

11. Hairy caterpillar, ground color dusky; with 2 rows of red 

spots and 2 rows of blue spots along back and with dim 
yellowish stripe between them. Gypsy. Page 34. 

12. Hairy caterpillars, when grown with long pencils of hairs 

at each end ; when young only sparsely hairy. 

I. Body white, black spotted, hair gray or wh'te, with 
spreading tufts of white hairs and decorated 
down the back with a row of 8 black tufts, 
(fig. 17). Hickory tiger. Page 35. 



15 

II. Body black, body hair yellow; more or less black at 
ends. Spotted tiger. Page 35. 

13. Hairy caterpillars with soft hairy lappets low on the sides ; 

a black band between joints 3 and 4 which shows when 
walking; warts on joint 3. Vellcda lappet. Page 37. 

14. A long-legged yellowish brown beetle feeding on the foliage. 

(fig. 18). Rose chafer. Page 38. 

Caterpillars living in web nests or cases in spring or summer, or. 
concealed in folded leaf or bud. 

1. Dusky yellowish, hairy caterpillar usually with broad dark 

stripe along middle of back; body hairs long and dark; 
in colonies, (fig. 19). Fall web worm. Page 40. 

2. Hairy caterpillar, ground color bluish, white stripe along 

middle of the back ; in colonies. 

Orchard tent-caterpillar. Page 41. 

3. Small bud-feeding caterpillar, with head and top of next 

segment black, body brownish. Bud Moth. Page 43. 

4. Small smooth olive greenish or brownish caterpillar, with 

yellow head, black dot on each side of segment behind the 
head; lives in folded leaf in fall. (fig. 22). 

Leaf sewer. Page 44. 

5. Caterpillar living in small cigar-shaped case (or from fall 

to early spring a curved case) about % inch long. (fig. 
23). Cigar case bearer. Page 45. 

Conspicuous winter stages. Egg masses, cocoons, etc. 

1. A small clump of dried leaves firmly tied together with s ; lk, 

fastened to the twig, concealing small dark living caterpil- 
lars within, (fig. 38). Brown-tail moth nest. Page 32. 

2. A large spindle-shaped cocoon upon the twigs with a single 

large brown pupa within, (fig. 2>7)- 

Cecropia cocoon. Page 21. 

3. A flat, oval, tan-colored, felt-like mass attached to tree 

trunks, old boards and all kinds of rubbish. 

Gypsy moth egg mass. Page 34. 

4. A band of eggs encircling a twig. 

I. Egg mass with rounded ends. (fig. 36). 

Orchard tent-caterpillar eggs. Page 41 
II. With square ends. 

Forest tent-caterpillar eggs. Page 30. 

5. Eggs adhering to a grayish cocoon ; cocoon enclosing a 

brownish empty pupal skin. (fig. 39). 

Antique tussock. Page 28. 

6. A whitish frothy mass enclosing several layers of eggs adher- 

ing to a grayish cocoon, with empty pupal skin within. 
White marked tussock. Page 28. 



i6 



a. PLANT LICE. 

Besides the woolly aphis which does its chief damage to the 
apple roots, several species of aphids attack the leaves, and 
tender stems. These are minute insects about ]/% of an inch 
long. They pierce the tissue of the shoots with their beaks 
and suck the sap or infest the leaves causing them to curl, or 
become sickly. Some species of these pass their whole life 
upon the apple while others spend part of the year on other 
plants. But as all the important species return to the apple 
twigs to lay eggs in the fall and as they resemble one another 
closely, both in appearance and manner of injury, it is not 
necessary to discuss more than two species here. 

Aphids are frequently attended by ants which are attracted 
by honey dew, a sweet secretion of the aphids, and the presence 
of ants about the apple leaves is a pretty certain sign of aphid 
infestation. 

Lady beetles (figs. 52, 53) both in the adult and larval stage 
feed greedily upon aphids and should not be mistaken for in- 
jurious insects. Syrphus maggots also are among the most 
beneficial insects in the State in this respect, as they destroy 
aphids in great numbers. 



1. Green Apple Aphis. 
(Aphis pomi De G.) 

The body is pear-shaped, the colors being yellowish green, 
greenish, or darker, varying considerably in detailed markings 
and in the several generations. 

Winter eggs (fig. 30) are deposited by the sexual females in 
the fall. They hatch in the spring, and, like the species next 
considered, the aphids developing from them cause a curling 
of the leaves. The green apple aphis infests the apple through- 
out the year. Upon the hatching of the winter eggs in spring 
a succession of agamic generations is produced, the earlier 
ones, except the first, with numerous winged individuals which 
migrate to other trees and establish new colonies. 



17 



2. Rosy Apple Aphis. 
(Aphis pyri Boyer.) 

The rosy apple aphis, regarded by Gillette as possibly Aphis 
pyri Boyer, is readily distinguished from the preceding by its 
larger size, rounder body, and usually rosy color, which, how- 
ever, may vary from salmon to tan or even to slaty gray or 
black, the body being covered with a whitish pulverulence. 

Winter eggs are deposited in the autumn by sexual females, 
and more often on the trunk and larger limbs than with the 
other species mentioned. They hatch in spring as the apple 
leaves are pushing out, and the young aphids infest the young 
leaves and later the tender shoots and foliage, the latter thus 
becoming usually badly curled. Three generations from the 
egg are said to occur on the apple in the spring, many individ- 
uals of the second and third generations developing wings and 
migrating to other trees and to other host plants. After the 
third generation the apple is deserted by the insects until fall, 
when the return migrants appear and give rise to the true sexual 
forms, the females depositing eggs as described. 

METHODS OP CONTROL. 

Priming. — As has been stated, the aphids under considera- 
tion pass the winter in the egg stage on the apple, the eggs being 
deposited more or less promiscuously over the more nearly 
terminal twigs (fig. 30). With young trees especially, which 
are seen to be heavily stocked with the eggs, the latter may be 
largely removed during the work of pruning, and the primings 
should be collected and burned. 

The insects in the egg condition are frequently distributed 
on nursery stock; therefore, if in planting trees this stock be 
well pruned and the primings destroyed, the establishment of 
the aphids in young orchards may be often prevented or de- 
laved. 

Winter spraying for destruction of eggs. — Excellent results 
have followed the use of lime-sulphur wash, most all of the 
eggs of the apple aphis having been destroyed by one thorough 
application in spring shortly before the buds opened. The use 
of this wash for the eggs of aphids would also control the 
San Jose scale when present. 



i8 



Spring and summer treatments. — Effective work in control- 
ling these insects may be done in the spring just after they have 
hatched from eggs and have collected on the expanding foliage. 
Trees seen to be badly infested at this time should be thoroughly 
sprayed, taking pains to wet as completely as possible all parts 
of the leaves, twigs, and branches. However thoroughly the 
work may be done, some of the "lice" are almost sure to escape 
destruction, owing to the difficulty of forcing the spray between 
the unfolding leaves, more or less covered with hairs, where 
some of the insects will have penetrated. A subsequent treat- 
ment in the course of a week should usually be made, especially 
if the first application is seen to have been unsatisfactory. 

After the foliage is well out and more or less distorted from 
the presence of the aphids, effective spraying is quite difficult, 
since many of the insects on the lower surface of the curled 
leaves will not be hit by the spray. Repeated applications must 
be made, therefore, as necessary to keep the insects under con- 
trol. 

Spray mixtures. — The lime-sulphur wash for the destruction 
of winter eggs is made according to the usual formula for the 
wash (Formula 10). 

After the trees are in foliage, a more dilute contact insecticide 
must be employed, as strong tobacco docoction, 1 5 or 20 per cent 
kerosene emulsion, or whale-oil soap (Formulas 8, 4, 6). Since 
aphids secure their food by sucking up sap from within the 
plant, none of the arsenical poisons would be effective. 



b. INSECTS FEEDING FREELY UPON THE LEAVES 
WITHOUT A NEST AND NOT CONCEALED 
WITHIN LEAF OR BUD. 

1. Canker Worms. 

i. spring canker-worm. 

(Paleacrita vemata.) 

The male moths of this species have rather large, thin, silky 

wings, about one inch across when spread. The general color 

is bluish gray. A well defined row or band of light markings 

near the outer margin of the front wings, and three darker, 

irregular bands, across the same wings, together with the 




19 

slightly lighter color and absence of markings on the hind 
wings, are characteristic features. The inconspicuous female 
moths are wingless and, because of this fact, the spread of the 
species is very slow, occurring mainly by the transportation of 
nursery stock infested with eggs. 

The moths usually emerge from the ground early in the 
spring— about April, or farther south, in March — and the fe- 
males climb up the trunks of trees to deposit eggs. The eggs, 
which are shaped something like hens' eggs and are about the 
size of fly specks, are deposited in irregular masses, usually 
partially concealed by loose pieces of bark. They hatch about 
the time the leaves unfold ; the time varying with the locality and 
the season. The larvae are ''measuring worms" with 2 pairs of 
legs at the hind end of body (fig. 5). The young larvae are 

Fig. 5. a, larva, showing the two pairs of pos- 
terior legs; b, single egg, much enlarged. (After 
Rilev). 

voracious feeders and they grow rapidly, usually attaining full 
size in from three to four weeks from the time of hatching. 
Upon reaching full size they drop to the ground, burrowing 
beneath the surface to a depth of two to five inches. Here each 
one forms a cell, lined with silk which it spins, and soon trans- 
forms to the chrysalis stage, where it remains until the following 
spring, when the adult moth emerges as before. 

II. FALL CANKER-WORM. 

(AlsopJiila pometaria.) 
The fall canker-worm so closely resembles the other species 
as to be frequently mistaken for it. For all practical purposes 
they may be considered together, but the fall canker-work is 
more distinctively a northern insect. As in the other species, 
the female moth is wingless, but in this species she lacks the 
hairiness which characterizes the other. The male moth has 
two light bands across the front wings instead of the single one 
of the preceding, and the rear wings are slightly shaded. The 
larvae of this species also, besides having three pairs of legs 
under the hind end of the body, as shown in figure 6, have a 
broad, dark stripe along the back, as opposed to the narrow 



20 




markings of the other species. The eggs, which are slightly 
larger than in the previous species, somewhat resemble small 
flower pots and are attached to the bark, in exposed situations, 
in masses of from 60 to 200, placed side by side as seen in figure 
6. c. The eggs highly magnified, are shown in figure 6 a. 



Fig. 6. a. single egg, much en- 
larged ; e, egg mass ; f , larva, 
showing the three pairs of pos- 
terior legs. (After Riley). 



The eggs are deposited in fall or early winter (sometimes in 
mild winters as late as March). They hatch about the same 
time as those of the other species and the larvae act in a similar 
manner, entering the ground about the same time. Instead of 
forming a cell lined with silk, however, this species spins a tough 
cocoon, and the moths come forth and begin laying eggs in 
October and November. 

HOW TO FIGHT CANKER-WORMS. 

One of the surest preventive measures is to place a band of 
tarred paper about the tree in March and smear it with tree 
tanglefoot, thus preventing the ascent of the female moths and 
the deposit of eggs. In case the bark is very rough, it should 
be scraped smooth to prevent the insects from crawling up be- 
hind the paper. If the fall canker-worm is present, of course 
the treatment must begin in October. If the trees are already 
attacked, jarring the limbs will cause many of the worms to 
spin a thread and drop to the ground. If the band of tangle- 
foot is in place they will be unable to return to the attack and 
may be destroyed. 

The surest way of fighting this pest, however, is by spraying 
with Paris green or arsenate of lead (Formula 3). For this 
purpose the pump should be powerful enough to develop a 
pressure of at least 60 pounds to the square inch, and all parts 
should be made of brass and carefully adjusted. 



21 



2. Cecropia Moth. 
(Samia cecropia.) 

The large gray or brown cocoon of the Cecropia moth is fre- 
quently found attached to the twigs of trees (fig. 3J). 




Fig. 7. (From Me. Agr. Exp. Sta. Circular). 

These are spun late in August or September by a green cater- 
pillar about four inches long. The body of the caterpillar is 
ornate with colored bead-like tubercles, the two pairs nearest 
the head being red with black spines, and the other dorsal tuber- 
cles smaller and yellow. Along the sides of the body the tuber- 
cles are bluish. (Fig. 7). 

After the cocoon is spun the caterpillar changes to the pupa, 
a dark brown object which may be found by opening one of 
the cocoons during the winter. 

In the spring the insect breaks open the brown pupal skin 
and emerges from the cocoon as the adult insect, the largest 
moth in the state and one of the most beautiful. Its expanded 
wings measure about five and one-half inches. In color the 
wings are brownish with a border of gray and submarginal 
lines of white and red. The form of the markings is better 
represented by the accompanying illustration than by a descrip- 
tion. 

The caterpillar is well attended by insect parasites and is 
devoured by birds. In this State it has not occurred to a 



22 



troublesome extent and need not be feared as a pest, although 
it feeds on apple and various forest trees. No remedies usu- 
ally seem necessary. If the caterpillars are found upon a small 
trees which they are likely to injure, hand picking will prove 
effectual. 

Those who find the Cecropia cocoons during the winter are 
often interested to save them in a warm room for the sake of 
observing the beautiful moth which emerges (fig. 8). 




Fig. 8. (From Me. Agr. Exp. Sta. Circular). 



3. Yellow-Necked Caterpillar. 
(Datana ministra.) 

During the late summer the yellow-necked caterpillar is a 
common orchard pest in Maine. 

The moth is tannish brown in color with head and the part 
of the thorax nearest the head a rich chestnut brown. Several 
dark brown lines cross the fore wings transversely. The hind 
wings are pale buff. The female moth deposits about 100 eggs 
in a cluster on a leaf. 

The caterpillars which hatch from these eggs, attain their 
full growth in 5 or 6 weeks. They are then about two inches 
long. The head is black and the segment just back of the 




23 

head is orange colored, a character which gives rise to the 
popular name "yellow-neck." The body is striped longitudi- 
nally with alternate yellow and black lines. Soft white hairs 
occur over the whole body but are too thin to be especially 
noticeable (fig. 9). Like the red-humped caterpillar, these 
caterpillars are clustered together both while feeding and when 
at rest. The caterpillars when at rest assume a characteristic 
and peculiar position on the branch with both extremities of 
the body raised. When alarmed they jerk their heads and tails 
in an irritated manner. 



Fig. 9. (After Holland). 



The full grown caterpillars bury themselves in the earth a 
few inches below the surface, where they transform into brown 
pupse, unprotected by any cocoon. They remain in the earth 
all winter and emerge about the middle of the next summer, 
when they are transformed to the moth, or mature insect. 

REMEDIES. 
As in the case of the red-humped caterpillar, gathering the 
caterpillars by hand is the simplest remedy and perhaps the 
only one which it is necessary to recommend. The caterpillars 
are gregarious and the whole brood is easily removed from the 
tree and destroyed. Arsenical sprays (Formula 3) will kill 
them, and may sometimes be a convenient means of combating 
them. 

4. Red-Humped Caterpillar. 

(CEdemasia concinna.) 
During August, September and October, the red-humped 
caterpillar is one of the most troublesome orchard caterpillars 
in the State. Many correspondents reported that entire or- 
chards of young trees were stripped of their foliage, except 
for the mid ribs of the leaves, before the presence of the pest 
had been discovered. 




24 



Fig. io. (From Me. Agr. Exp. Sta. 
Circular). 

The mature insect is an inconspicuous brown moth with wing 
expanse of slightly more than one inch. The female deposits 
eggs on the under side of a leaf in a cluster, usually during 
July. The young caterpillars, which soon hatch from these 
eggs, feed upon the tender tissues of the under side of the leaf, 
not attacking at first the upper surface. When they become 
larger they devour the whole leaf except the mid rib. They 
move in flocks, an entire brood feeding together and remaining 
in a cluster when resting. In the caterpillar or larval stage 
this insect is readily recognized. The body of the full grown 
caterpillar is marked with fine longitudinal stripes of black, 
white and yellow, and short black spines occur in rows. The 
head is bright red and the first segment of the abdomen, which 
is conspicuously humped, is of the same color (fig. io). The 
caterpillars reach their full growth (about i 1 /^ inches) from 
August to late October. When full grown, they descend to 
the ground and hide under leaves or other rubbish and make a 
glassy transparent cocoon, within which they pass their pupal 
period. They remain in the cocoon all winter and emerge the 
following season as mature moths. 

REMEDIES. 

The red-humped caterpillars are not especially difficult to 
combat if a watch is kept for the colonies while they are young. 
As they are gregarious, it is a simple matter to clip off the 
small twig containing the whole brood of little caterpillars. 
When they are larger they can often be dislodged by jarring 
the branch and destroyed on the ground. Arsenical sprays 
(Formula 3) will kill them, but the presence of fruit makes 
this remedy undesirable for bearing trees late in the season. 

5. Mottled Fruit Caterpillar. 

(Crocigrapha uoniiaui.) 
The eggs are laid in a mass flatly attached to the leaf. They 
hatch in mid-June in Maine. The larva is a smooth, hairless 
caterpillar, 1 T _■ inches long when full grown. Its head is shinv 



25 

yellow with one dark blotch on each lobe. Its body is mottled 
grayish brown above, and pale grayish green beneath. The 
legs are pale. This caterpillar feeds both upon the foliage and 
the fruit. (See fig. 55). The pupal stage is passed in the 
ground. It is a glistening brown object about y± inch long. 
The mature insect is a brownish moth expanding about 1^2 
inches. 

REMEDIES. 

Arsenical sprays (Formula 3) applied for other species will 
control this one also. As this caterpillar is very readily dis- 
lodged, jarring the tree and killing the insect on the ground is 
a convenient combatative measure. 

6. Saddled Prominent. 
Heterocampa guttivitta (Walker). 

This species is well known in Maine because it has been ex- 
cessively destructive to orchard and forest trees during some 
seasons. The full grown caterpillar is about i l /> inches long; 
body green usually, with reddish brown markings on the back, 
smooth and hairless (fig. 11). The mature insect is a moth 
expanding about 2 inches, ground color olive-greenish ashen 
with cream white patches and black markings (figs. 12, 13). 

For Maine the saddled prominent has but one brood. The 
moths emerge in greatest numbers late in May and early in 
June. Oviposition begins soon after mating which occurs the 
first night after emergence. The eggs hatch in about 9 days 
and the larvae become full grown in 5 weeks (or more accord- 
ing to weather conditions and food supply). During this time 
they molt four times. The full grown larvae enter the ground 
for pupation. In Maine pupation takes place from mid July to 
late August, the majority of larvae burying late in July. They 
pass the winter in the pupal stage, under the leaf mold, and the 
moths emerge in the spring. 

The eggs are deposited singly by the female which in cap- 
tivity applies the eggs to both sides of the leaf. From the rea- 
son that the tops of the trees are stripped first and then the 
lower branches it is to be concluded that the moths by prefer- 
ence deposit the eggs upon the upper leaves. Perhaps the same 
tendency to fly high may account in part for the fact that the 



26 



hillside forests are in general more largely attacked than the 
lowlands. 

The full grown larva drops or climbs to the ground and con- 
structs a cell in the earth or under the leaves at a distance of 
i to 3 inches below the surface. This cell is oval and is lined 
by a thin spinning of silk. 

The insect after remaining in the pupal stage all winter 
emerges with the warm spring days. 




Fig. ii. (After Packard). 




Fig. 12. Male. Fig. 13. Female. 

(Fig. 12 and 13 from Me. Ag. Exp. Sta. Bui. 161). 



COMBATATIVE MEASURES. 

For the orchard or shade trees there are several practical 
measures which have proven successful the past season in pre- 
venting serious injury from the saddled prominent. 

Spraying. — This species is susceptible to arsenical poisons 
and the caterpillars readily died on apple trees which were thor- 
oughly sprayed. Arsenate of lead or Paris green (Formula 3) 
will kill these caterpillars and should be applied as soon as they 
begin appreciable work. Applications from the middle to the 
last of June would probably get all these caterpillars which 
hatched upon the trees. In case a migration to an orchard 
from an infested forest growth is feared, the orchard should be 
sprayed as soon as the caterpillars begin to travel in search of 
fresh food. If trees not already attacked are banded with a 
sticky substance, the ascent of caterpillars up the trunk will 
effectually be prevented. 



27 

Jarring and banding. — The saddled prominents are readily 
shaken from the branches. The cool of the morning is the 
most propitious time for jarring-. The caterpillars once dis- 
lodged, their reclimbing can be prevented by banding. 

A material useful for this purpose is sold under the name of 
Tree Tanglefoot. This substance consists principally of resin 
softened by the admixture of suitable oils. It is quite similar 
to that used in the manufacture of adhesive fly-paper, seems to 
possess the merit of not injuring the trunks of trees, and is very 
effective in checking the ascent of caterpillars thereon. Where 
the number of caterpillars jarred from the trees is excessive it 
is expedient to kill them. A hand spray charged with kerosene 
or gasoline is a useful means to this end. 

Fowls and Pigs. — Hens will devour these caterpillars greedily 
and if given the range of an orchard will eat great numbers of 
the caterpillars which drop to the ground or descend to pupate. 

Pigs pastured in an orchard will, by rooting up and eating 
the pupae, prevent great numbers of saddled prominents and 
other moths from emerging and depositing eggs for the follow- 
ing season. 

7. Apple-Leaf Buccueatrix. 
(Bucculatrix pomifolieUa. ) 

The larva of this insect is about one-half inch long when 
mature, cylindrical, tapering at both ends. Joints of the body 
rounded and prominent, color dark yellowish, with a greenish 
tinge and reddish shades on the anterior segments. The larvae 
are active and when disturbed suspend themselves by a silken 
thread. 

The cocoon is dirty white, slender, about one- fourth inch long, 
ribbed longitudinally by about six prominent ridges, oblong, 
tapering at both ends, flattened on the side to which it is at- 
tached. Usually fastened to the twigs and branches in groups. 
(Fig. 14). 



28 




Fig. 14. (After Riley). 

The small moth has only about one-fourth inch expanse of 
wings. Fore wings whitish, tinged with pale yellow and dusky 
brown. (Fig. 14). 

This insect spends the winter in the pupa state in the cocoon, 
usually attached to the twigs and branches of the host plant. 
About the time the leaves unfold, the moths come forth and lay 
their eggs upon the tender foliage. The larvae are full grown 
in July. 

In September or October the cocoons in which the pupse 
spend the winter are formed. The larvae feed externally upon 
the foliage, the upper epidermis and pulp eaten away in patches, 
the veins and lower epidermis intact. 



REMEDIES. 

Jar the trees when the larvae are full grown and they will 
suspend themselves by threads and can be swept down by a 
broom and killed by hot water or crushed. 

Apply kerosene emulsion with a spraying pump in winter, 
to the branches that bear the cocoons. The same application 
might be made for the first brood when the foliage is on. 

Spray with arsenical poisons (Formula 3) as for other leaf- 
eating insects. 

8. Tussock Moths. 
1. WHITE-MARKED tussock (Hemerocampa Icucostigma). 
11. antique tussock (Notolophiis antiqita). 
The conspicuous white egg masses of these moths are de- 
posited late in the summer or in the fall upon the cocoons from 




2 9 

which the female moths emerge. As the hairy cocoons are 
commonly attached to the rough bark, or twigs of trees the 
caterpillars infest, the egg-masses are readily found at any time 
after the leaves have fallen. The eggs which the white-marked 
tussock deposits are covered with a white frothy substance 
which becomes brittle upon exposure to the air. The antique 
tussock does not protect its eggs in this manner but leaves them 
uncovered upon the cocoon (fig. 39). 



Fig. 15. (After Riley). 



The caterpillars which emerge from these eggs in the spring 
are most grotesque in appearance. The caterpillar of the white- 
marked tussock moth when full grown has a shiny coral red 
head beyond which extend two stiff pencils of black hairs di- 
rected forward like horns. A single pencil of similar con- 
struction supplies the other end of the body with a tail. Upon 
the middle of the back, starting a little behind the head, is a 
row of four regular tufts of soft whitish hairs which resemble 
small paint brushes neatly trimmed off at the tip. In a line 
with these but nearer the tail occur two little bright red tuber- 
cles (fig. 15). The full grown antique tussock caterpillar re- 
sembles closely the species just described. Its head, however, 
is jet black and it has an additional pair of black pencils, simi- 
lar to though shorter than the horns, projecting from the sides 
of the body, which is lacking in the caterpillar of the white- 
marked tussock. 

After feeding for four or five weeks the caterpillar becomes 
full grown and spins a rough cocoon of silk with which it mixes 
the hairs that have decorated its body. These cocoons are usu- 
ally formed upon the bark or in the angles of twigs. Often a 
leaf is attached to the mass. 

In about two weeks the adult insects emerge from the co- 
coons. The males are winged, the white-marked tussock having 
gray wings which expand nearly one and one-half inches and 
the antique tussock having smaller brown wings. The female 



30 

moths of these two species are not readily distinguishable. They 
never acquire wings and their distended bodies are practically 
little more than animated sacs of eggs. The females being un- 
able to fly and their bodies being too heavy for their slender 
legs to drag about, cling to the cocoons from which they emerge 
and soon after mating deposit about 300 eggs in a mass upon 
the cocoon. 

REMEDIAL MEASURES. 

The white egg masses deposited on the cocoons remain on 
the trees all winter. These are readily seen and can be removed 
and burned. Cocoons of the tussock not covered with eggs 
should not be disturbed as they are either the empty cocoons of 
males or cocoons containing parasites. If the cocoons are empty 
they can do no harm and if they contain parasites, these insect 
enemies of the tussock should be allowed to develop. 

The fact that the females cannot fly makes this pest easily 
controlled locally, for the orchardist need not especially fear his 
neighbor's infested trees. 

The caterpillars are susceptible to arsenical sprays (Formula 
3) and this means of combating them is sometimes necessary 
where the winter collecting has been neglected or when the tus- 
socks appear in destructive numbers upon shade trees. 

9. Forest Tent Caterpillar. 
(Malacosoma disstria.) 

The eggs of this insect are deposited in a belt encircling a 
small twig, about 200 in each mass. These egg masses resemble 
those of the orchard tent caterpillar, except that they are more 
nearly square at the ends. A glistening varnish-like protective 
substance is deposited with the eggs which renders the mass 
more readily seen in the sun. 

The colonies of young larvae do not construct tents as do the 
orchard tent caterpillar, but they are usually massed during 
dark or rainy weather. 

The caterpillars resemble the orchard tent caterpillars, the 
most striking difference being that the cream colored line along 
the back is broken into a line of dots in the forest tent cater- 
pillar while with the orchard tent caterpillar this line is un- 
broken. Thev q-row to be about two inches lone". 



3i 

The full grown caterpillar constructs a filmy outer cocoon 
with an inner firm cell which it soaks with a yellow discharge 
drying to a pale yellow powder. These cocoons are often at- 
tached to buildings. 

Moth. — In from 10 to 14 days after spinning the cocoon the 
adult insect emerges. This yellowish-brown moth resembles 
that of the orchard tent caterpillar closely but the transverse 
bands on the wings are darker than the ground work of the 
wings instead of paler as with the other species. It is not 
practicable to combat the insect in this stage. 

REMEDIAL MEASURES. 

Arsenical sprays (Formula 3) applied early in the season will 
satisfactorily dispose of this pest and for orchard or shade trees 
protected in this manner no other means are necessary. After 
the caterpillars are half grown it is their custom to congregate 
in great masses on the trunks of the trees while they molt their 
skins. Here they may be destroyed by a stiff broom dipped in 
kerosene or swept into a pail of water and kerosene. 

When not congregated for molting the older caterpillars when 
not feeding stretch out motionless along the branches or trunk 
and are difficult to see, especially as they are likely to choose 
the upper side of the branch. 

However, it is not necessary to wait for the molting periods 
in order to combat the older caterpillars on trees which have 
not been protected by spraying. These caterpillars drop down- 
ward when disturbed. "This habit leads to the suggestion that 
by a combination of jarring and banding much injury may be 
prevented." After the caterpillars are jarred from the tree the 
trunks of trees are painted with a band of "tanglefoot" such as 
is used against the gypsy caterpillar to prevent their ascending. 
L 




Fig. 16. Forest Tent Caterpillar. (From. Me. Ag. Ex. Sta. Circular). 



32 



io. Brown-Tail Moth. 
(Euproctis chrysorrhcea.) 

The caterpillars of the brown-tail moth are capable of ruin- 
ing orchard, shade and many woodland trees. They are also a 
dreaded nuisance, because the caterpillar hairs break off, and 
on coming- in contact with the human skin, cause extreme irri- 
tation and often illness. 

So serious a pest should be known by every one in the State, 
because although extermination of this insect may not be pos- 
sible, much practical and effectual work can be done in holding 
it in check and reducing its numbers so that damage to orchard 
and shade trees may be very slight. 

The moths, expanding from one and one-fourth to one and 
three-fourths inches, are white except for the abdomen, which 
is tinged with brown and tipped with a tuft of brown hairs. 
This tuft is small and dark in the male, but the large golden- 
brown tuft in the female is conspicuous enough to be the most 
striking characteristic of the moth, and has won for this insect 
its descriptive name of "brown-tail." These moths are on the 
wing in July, and unlike some closely related pests, the brown- 
tail females as well as the males are strong fliers. They are 
active at night, and as lights have an attraction for them, they 
sometimes fly a long way toward a lighted district. 

The female usually selects a leaf near the tip of the branch 
on which to deposit from one hundred and fifty to three hun- 
dred eggs. Some of the brown hairs from the abdominal tuft 
adhere to the egg-mass and give it the appearance of a brown 
felt lump. 

By the middle of August most of the eggs are hatched and 
the young caterpillars spin a slight web over the leaf near the 
egg cluster. When they have eaten all but the skeleton of the 
first leaf, they draw another into the web and repeat the process 
at intervals during the late summer. They feed slowly, how- 
ever, and spend so much time spinning their web that they do 
comparatively little damage to the trees in fall, and they are still 
very small (about one-fourth of an inch in length) when cold 
v eather comes on. 

The winter nests. — (Fig. 38). In the fall the young cater- 
pillars weave additional layers of silk about their retreat, fas- 



33 

tening it securely to the branch by the web, and pass the winter 
thus in colonies of one hundred and fifty to three hundred in a 
single nest. This is a very unusual yet most commendable 
habit in a caterpillar pest, for they can be killed, hundreds at a 
time, simply by burning the nests in which the colonies hiber- 
nate. The nests, composed of leaves, bound firmly together by 
a silken web, are varied in shape. In spite of the superficial 
variety the essential characteristics of the brown-tail moth nests 
are soon learned, and even anyone unfamiliar with the nest can 
make himself perfectly certain if he will cut carefully into the 
nest. If the structure contains one or more silken cells tilled 
with tiny living caterpillars it is the winter nest of the brozmi- 
tail moth. 

Early in the spring the young caterpillars emerge from their 
winter nests and feed upon the opening leaf buds. Until about 
the middle of June they feed greedily upon the leaves, com- 
pletely stripping the trees where they are numerous. When 
full grown the caterpillars are about one and one-half inches 
long. They are dark brown with a sprinkling of orange. Long 
fine reddish-brown hairs cover the body, and a row of conspicu- 
ous white hairs runs along each side. Like the caterpillars of 
the tussock and gypsy moths, they bear bright red tubercles on 
the top of the sixth and seventh abdominal segments. 

Poisonous qualities of the caterpillars. — Were the caterpillars 
to be feared only for their ravages upon orchard and other 
trees, the situation would be alarming enough, but not less 
serious is the physical discomfort experienced by people living 
in infested districts. When the minutely barbed hairs of the 
caterpillar come in contact with the skin they cause an eruption 
similar to and in many cases worse than ivy poisoning. These 
hairs are brittle and where the caterpillars are numerous few 
people are likely to escape, as the caterpillars drop from the 
branches and creep about, even entering houses. Direct con- 
tact with the insects themselves is not necessary, however, for 
when the caterpillars shed their skins the molts are blown 
about, widely scattering the barbed hairs. 

The caterpillars are usually full grown in "June. They then 
spin loose cocoons, attached commonly to leaves, though some- 
times other shelter is sought. Within these they transform to 



34 

brown pupae about three-fourths of an inch long. From the 
first to the twentieth of July the moths with pure white wings 
and brown-tipped abdomens emerge from these cocoons to 
deposit eggs for the next generation of caterpillars. 

REMEDIAL MEASURES. 

Destruction of breeding places. — Old and worthless orchard 
trees, wild cherry tangles and other susceptible trees in infested 
regions should be cleared away, thus lessening the labor of 
direct search for the destruction of winter nests, by eliminating 
likely breeding places. 

Cutting and burning the "winter nests. — This is the most im- 
oortant of the direct remedies because it is the easiest, cheap- 
est and, if thoroughly done, a sufficient protection against the 
ravages of this pest. The webs and leaves that compose the 
nest are woven tightly to the tips of the branches and hang 
there like dead leaves all winter. With so many months for 
inspection there is no excuse for harboring the hibernating 
caterpillars on shade or orchard trees. After they are cut from 
the branches the nests should be burned, as this is the simplest 
way of destroying the colony within. 

Spraying. — The young caterpillars can be killed by arsenical 
sprays (Formula 3). This remedy is most effective when ap- 
plied' as soon as the leaves develop in the spring. Of course 
where the winter nests have been destroyed there will be no 
need of this remedy and it is much easier to kill about two hun- 
dred caterpillars enclosed in a nest than to wait until they are 
scattered over the tree. 

11. Gypsy Moth. 

( Lymantria dispar. ) 
Unlike the brown-tail moth, the gypsy moth winters in the 
egg stage. Although winged, the female gypsy moth does not 
fly, but deposits the eggs in any convenient place to which it 
can crawl. The egg masses are most commonly attached to 
the bark of trees but they are also found in such places as under 
edges of stones, beneath fence rails, on buildings, and in old 
cans and rubbish. The eggs are laid in July and August in a 
mass of 400 to 500. They are covered with tan colored hairs 
from the body of the female moth, and form an irregular oval 
mass. 



35 

As the eggs do not hatch until about May i, eight months at 
least are available for their destruction. 

The young larvae or young caterpillars are dark in color and 
well furnished with dark hairs. The full-grown larva is be- 
tween 2 and 3 inches long, dark brown or sooty in color, with 
two rows of red spots and two rows of blue spots along the 
back, and with a yellowish but rather dim stripe between them. 
The body generally is clothed with long hairs, and sometimes 
reaches the length of 3 inches. 

The larvae usually become full grown about the 1st of July, 
and then transform to pupae. The pupae are found in the same 
situations as those we described for the egg clusters, but are 
found also in the foliage of trees and shrubs. 

The male moth is brownish yellow in color, sometimes having 
a greenish-brown tinge ; it has a slender body, well-feathered 
antennae, and a wing expanse of about an inch and a half. The 
forewings are marked with wavy zigzag darker lines. It flies 
actively all day as well as by night. 

The female moth is nearly white, with slender black antennae, 
each of the forewings marked with three or four zigzag, trans- 
verse, dark lines, and the outer border of both pairs of wings 
with a series of black dots. The body of the female is so heavy 
as to prevent flight. 

REMEDIAL MEASURES. 

Killing the Eggs. — "No single method of destruction against 
the gypsy moth is more effective than killing the eggs. The 
egg masses, wherever accessible, can be killed from August to 
May by soaking them thoroughly with creosote mixture. The 
creosote may be applied with a small swab or paint brush. 
Creosote mixture may be purchased at agricultural warehouses 
and seed stores at from 50 cents to $1.00 per gallon, depending 
on the quantity." 

The caterpillar can be controlled by arsenical sprays (For- 
mula 3). 

12. Tiger Moths. 

I. hickory tiger moth (Halisidota caryoe). 

II. spotted tiger moth (Halisidota maculata) . 
These two closely related insects are so similar in habits and 



36 

are so commonly associated in Maine orchards that they may 
be discussed together. 

The hickory tiger caterpillars are, when full grown, covered 
with spreading tufts of white hairs and decorated down the 
back with a row of 8 black tufts. The fourth and tenth seg- 
ments each bear two long slender pencils of black hair. 

The caterpillar of the spotted tiger moth is yellow and black, 
these colors occurring in widely variable proportions. Some- 
times the whole body is covered with yellow hairs in which case 
there is a row of 8 tufts of black along the back as with the 
hickory tiger. Often, however, both ends of the caterpillar 
are covered with black hairs with scattering pencils of white 
and the yellow hairs are limited to the central portion of the 
body- Both the hickory tiger and spotted tiger caterpillars have 
jet black heads and legs. 

The young tiger caterpillars are only sparsely supplied with' 
hairs and bear very little resemblance to the fuzzy full grown 
ones. They are gregarious when young and at first their pres- 
ence may be detected by skeletonized leaves but later the colony 
scatters and the caterpillars feed separately, eating the whole 
leaf substance. If they are disturbed they curl up like a hedge- 
hog and drop to the ground. The hairs are easily brushed from 
the body of these caterpillars and cause, upon contact with sen- 
sitive dtin, an irritating itching sensation. 




Fig. 17. Caterpillar of hickory tiger moth. (From Me. Agr. Ex. 
Sta. Circular). 



37 

They feed until they are nearly one and one-half inches in 
length and then they leave the trees and seek suitable shelter 
for their cocoons, the sides of buildings often being selected. 
The cocoons are oval, snug little objects less than an inch long 
and are composed almost entirely of the hairs which have 
covered the caterpillars, closely felted together. Within the 
cocoon the insect remains all winter — as short, thick, rather 
blunt brown pupae. 

The winged moths emerge from the cocoons in June and 
deposit their egg clusters upon some suitable food plant. The 
hickory tiger moth is pale buff. The fore wings are thickly 
sprinkled with little brown dots and set with irregular yellow- 
ish white spots. The hind wings are unmarked. The spotted 
tiger moth resembles the related species closely, but the spots 
are variable in size and number. 

REMEDIAL MEASURES. 

Arsenical sprays (Formula 3) will poison these caterpillars. 
However, where trees are carefully watched, the colonies of 
the tiger caterpillars could be easily removed by hand while they 
are young and congregated together. Sometimes, too, it is pos- 
sible to get rid of them by jarring them off on to a sheet. Where 
they form cocoons along the edges of clapboards and in other 
crannies about buildings, much can be done by sweeping down 
the cocoons and destroying them. 

13. Velleda Lappet Moth. 
(Tolypc velleda.) 
The larva of this insect is remarkable for having on each side 
of each segment a little lappet or flat lobe ; from these many 
ling hairs are given out, forming a fringe to the body. It is 
bluish gray, with many faint longitudinal lines ; and across the 
back of the last thoracic segment there is a narrow velvety 
black band. When at rest the body of the larva is flattened, 
and the fringes on the sides are closely applied to the surface 
of the limb. The larva is full grown during July. The cocoon 
is brownish gray, and is usually attached to a branch of the 
tree. The body of the moth is milk white with a large black- 
ish spot on the middle of its back, the wings are a soft bluish 
gray crossed by white lines. The moths have an expanse of 
wing ranging from i l /[ to 2 inches. 



38 



REMEDIAL MEASURES. 

It is rarely necessary to apply repressive measures. Arseni- 
cal sprays (Formula 3) will control these insects. 

14. Rose-Chafer. 

(Macrodactylits subspinosus Fab.) 
The rose-chafer (fig. 18), a long-legged beetle of a light yel- 
lowish brown color, and about a third of an inch in length, 
appears in June, the date varying somewhat according to local- 
ity and season, and the beetles mate and begin feeding soon 
after they emerge from the ground. For from four to six 
weeks after their appearance they continue feeding, almost con- 
stantly paired. The female deposits her eggs singly, from 
twenty-four to thirty-six in number, a few inches beneath the 
surface of the earth, and in about two or three weeks' time 
they hatch and the young larvae or grubs begin feeding on such 
tender rootlets, preferably of grass, as are in reach. In au- 
tumn they have reached maturity. They are yellowish white 
in color, with a pale brown head. Late in autumn they descend 
lower into the earth, beyond the reach of frost, and in early 
spring they ascend, and each grub forms a little earthen cell in 
which it passes the winter. Later in the spring, in April or 
early May, they transform to pupae, and in from two to four 
weeks afterwards the beetles emerge, dig they way out of the 
ground, and the destructive work is renewed. A single gen- 
eration of the species is produced in a year, and about three 
weeks is the average duration of life for an individual insect. 




Fig. 18. (After U. S. Div. of Entomology). 



39 

The beetles do not confine their ravages to any particular 
portion of a plant, but consume blossoms, leaves, fruit, and all 
alike (fig. 41, 42). Whole orchards are often devastated, and 
the fruit crop of large sections of country destroyed. It is no 
uncommon sight to see every young apple on a tree completely 
covered and obscured from view by a sprawling, struggling 
mass of beetles. 

REMEDIES. 

The rose-chafer is one of our worst insect enemies to combat 
successfully. The difficulty is that any application that may be 
made is unsuccessful unless applied almost continually. The 
arsenites will kill the beetle, but are not of much value when 
the insects are abundant, because of the slow action of the 
poison. Every beetle on a plant might be destroyed one day, 
but on the day following the plant would be completely covered 
again. 

They may be jarred from trees on to sheets saturated with 
kerosene, but these methods are tedious and must be practiced 
daily in early morning or toward sundown to be effective. 

Small orchards may be protected, at least from the first arriv- 
ing hordes of the chafers, by planting about them early-flower- 
ing plants that particularly attract the beetles. Spiraeas, Deut- 
zias, Andromeda, magnolias, blackberries, and white roses are 
especially useful as counter-attractives. The beetles swarm on 
the flowers of these plants in preference to many varieties of 
fruits, and when thus massed in great numbers, their destruc- 
tion by the use of collectors or other mechanical means is great- 
ly facilitated. All ground which might serve as a breeding 
place and which it is possible so to treat, should be plowed and 
harrowed earlv in May for the destruction of the larvae or pupae. 



40 



c. CATERPILLARS LIVING IN WEB NESTS WHILE 
THE TREE IS IN LEAF, OR MORE OR LESS 
CONCEALED IN FOLDED LEAF OR BUD. 

i. Fall Web Worm. 
( Hyphan tria cunea. ) 





Fig. 20. (After Howard). 



The mature insect is a moth with a wing expanse of about 
i]/ 2 inches. It varies much in coloration but the most common 
form is white or slightly fulvous with white wings. The wings 
may be pure white or dotted with black and brown. In the 
spring the moths emerge from the cocoons in which they have 
passed the winter and the female deposits eggs upon a leaf in 
May or June. Each moth lays from 400 to 500 eggs from 
which hatch minute caterpillars in 10 days or more according 
to weather conditions. These caterpillars remain together and 
cover themselves with a small silken web. As they grow, more 
and more leaves are drawn into the web which may in time 
include the leaves of several small branches or all upon a large 
bianch. Such webs sometimes attain dimensions of several 
feet and are conspicuous and unsightly masses. 

If they are so numerous on one tree that the food supply 
gives out they leave the web and seek other trees. Otherwise 
they remain until they are full grown (a little more than an 
inch in length), when they drop to the ground and seek a place 
where they may make cocoons. Recesses which attract them 
for this purpose are crevices in bark, spaces under boards or 
door steps, or near the surface of the ground in rubbish. These 
insects pupate within thin, almost transparent cocoons and re- 
main in them all winter, emerging as mature moths in the spring. 



4i 



REMEDIAL MEASURES. 

Trees well protected with arsenical sprays (Formula 3) will 
not need other treatment for fall web worm, for the poisoned 
leaves will be drawn into the web for food. In many cases the 
simplest means for combating- them is to keep close watch upon 
the trees and clip off and burn the web when it is still small. 
Even the full sized web can be pruned off from trees not valu- 
able, but in the orchard there is, of course, no excuse for allow- 
ing them to remain until large branches are involved in the web. 
The web may be effectually drenched with a strong washing- 
powder solution or kerosene emulsion. 

2. Orchard Tent Caterpillar. 
(Malacosoma amcricana.) 

Encircling the twig of apple, plum, and wild cherry trees is 
frequently found a glistening brown mass about three-fourths 
of an inch in length (fig. 36). 

From such an egg cluster hatch in the spring from two hun- 
dred to three hundred caterpillars, which live in a colony and 
construct a whitish tent-like web in the angle of two convenient 
branches. It is the habit of the tent caterpillars to pass their 
time when not feeding, particularly at night and during cold or 
stormy weather, within the tent which they enlarge as their own 
rapid increase in size calls for more room. During the warm 
sunny hours of the day they leave their protection and feed 
voraciously, defoliating the branches in the vicinity of the tents. 
One colony is enough to denude a young tree or several large 
branches of an old tree. 

The tent which is at first a delicate filmy silken web becomes 
by the time the caterpillars are full grown a structure two feet 
or more in length, unsightly with the accumulation of molted 
skins and other rubbish. 

The full grown caterpillar is nearly two inches long. It is 
slender, dark, and velvety with numerous soft golden brown 
hairs upon the body. A white stripe marks the middle of the 
back, while the sides are streaked irregularly with white or yel- 
low. Along each side of the dorsal white line is a row of trans- 
verse pale blue spots. 



42 

After feeding for four or five weeks the caterpillars leave the 
tree in search of a sheltered place for their cocoons, a crevice 
in the bark, the eaves of buildings, or rubbish piles, proving 
attractive for this purpose. The cocoon is an elongated oval 
with the outer silk delicate and loosely woven and the inner part 
firmer and close. The inner cell is painted on the inside with 
a thick vellow liquid which soaks through the cocoon and soon 
dries to a yellow powder. 

The insect remains in the cocoon from two to three weeks, 
when it emerges as a brown moth expanding about one and 
one-half inches. The fore wings are crossed obliquely by two 
pale lines. The general color of the moth varies from buff to 
reddish brown in different individuals. 




Fig. 21. Female moth photographed in resting position; slightly 

enlarged. 

REMEDIES. 

This insect is so easy to combat that its presence to any great 
extent in an orchard is due largely to negligence. During the 
bright days of winter and spring the egg masses are readily de- 
tected on young twigs as their varnished surfaces glisten in 
the sun. These should be removed and burned. 

Since the caterpillars congregate in their tents at night and 
are not early risers, they can be destroyed, the whole colony 
at once, by soaking the tent with kerosene emulsion, or soap 
or washing powder suds (Formulas 4, 7). This may be applied 
by a swab attached to a pole. Any time when the whole family 
is "at home" is suitable for this remedy, as the early morning, 
evening, or a cold or cloudy day. 

Arsenical sprays (Formula 3) will kill the caterpillars and 
may be applied to the branches near the tents. Trees sprayed 
early in the spring for the bud moth and other early caterpillars 
will be sufficiently protected against the tent caterpillar also. 



43 

3. Bud Moth. 
(Tmetoccra ocellana.) 

This is probably one of the worst pests to apple orchards in 
Maine. It works in the unfolding flower and leaf buds of 
orchard trees, often doing great damage to the crop, besides 
attacking nursery stock and young trees. 

The half grown, brown, hibernating caterpillars usually 
emerge from winter quarters about the time the buds begin 
to expand, their first appearance depending on the advance of 
the season, and ranging over two or three weeks. When they 
are out early, they gnaw into the buds. If the buds are open 
they crawl inside. They attack both flower and leaf buds, 
fastening the parts together with silken threads forming a nest, 
within which they feed upon the enclosed tender flower or leaf 
parts. They do not confine their depredations to a single leaf 
or flower in the bud, but increase the injury done by sampling 
nearly all. They sometimes bore down the stems a few inches, 
killing the terminal shoots. The bud attacked turns brown, 
making the nest conspicuous. The caterpillars feed mostly at 
night for 6 or 7 weeks and moult 3 times. When full grown 
the caterpillar forms a tube out of leaves, which it lines with 
thin, closely woven silk, and within it soon changes to the pupa. 
In about 10 days the pupa works its way nearly out of the tube 
by the hooks on its back. The skin splits open and the moth 
appears. The moths are on the wing during the latter part of 
June and the first of July. They fly mostly at night, resting 
on the trees during the day time, when they may be easily recog- 
nized by the white bands on the ash colored wings. The moth 
has a wing expanse of 3-5 of an inch. They live 2 or 3 weeks, 
during which time they mate and the eggs are laid. The eggs, 
which resemble small fish scales, are laid singly or in clusters, 
mostly at night, on the under side of the leaves. The eggs 
hatch in 7 to 10 days. The young larvae feed upon the epidermis 
of the leaf, forming a silken tube for protection. After the 
fourth moult, which occurs the last of August or the first of 
September, or before the leaves fall, they leave the silken tubes 
and form a silken winter home (hibernacitlum) on the smaller 
twigs near the buds, in which they spend the winter. The 
appearance of the hibernating larva in the spring completes the 
cycle of life. 



44 



REMEDIES. 

Pull off and burn the withered clusters of leaves containing- 
the caterpillars and chrysalids early in spring. Spray with 
arsenate of lead (Formula 3) as soon as the buds begin to 
swell in the spring. It will not do to wait until the attack is 
made. 

4. Leaf Sewer. 

(Ancylis nubeculana.) 
The leaf is folded along the mid rib, the two sides being 
brought together, the caterpillar constructing its nest within 
(fig. 22). The winter is passed in the larval condition in the 
folded leaves which lie on the ground. In April the larvae 
transform to pupae and about 10 days later the moths begin to 
appear, laying eggs in June. The caterpillar is about ^2 inch 
in length when full grown, yellowish green, with yellow head, 
and horny shield on the next segment a little darker, with a 
black dot on each side. On each of the remaining segments 
there are some pale, shiny, raised dots (tubercles) from every 
one of which arises usuallv a single hair. 




Fig. 22. (From Me. Ag. Exp. Sta. Bui. 177). 

In the perfect state this insect-is a small white moth with 
brown markings with an expanse of wings of about ^4 inch. 

REMEDIES. 

When the injury to the tree is serious the fallen leaves may 
be raked up and burned in the autumn to restrict the develop- 
ment of the moth the following season. 



45 



5. The Cigar Case-Bearer. 
{Coleophora Hetcherella.) 
The caterpillars infest mainly the leaves, but in the spring 
they may also be found on the buds and the young fruits. The 
full grown caterpillar is reddish orange and averages 1-5 of an 
inch in length. The case, as it is made in the fall, is a minute 
flattened curved structure composed of portions of the upper 
and lower skins of the leaf. In the spring a second case (fig. 
23) is made, which is longer, cylindrical or cigar-shaped, in 
which the larva pupates. The adult insect which emerges from 
the pupa during June and July is a small, steel gray moth 
expanding less than Yz an inch. 




(After SHngerland). 



REMEDIES. 

This insect can be kept in check by arsenical sprays (Formula 

3), the first to be applied a? soon as the cases are noticed on the 

opening buds. A second and perhaps a third application may 

be necessary at intervals of 4 to 7 days on badly infested trees. 



40 

AAA. INSECTS ON OR IN THE FRUIT. 
(Divisions a, b, and c.) 
Caterpillars with j pairs of thoracic and several abdominal legs. 

1. Full grown caterpillar less than a / 2 inch long, with an anal 

fork*, mining in the fruit. 

i. Lesser apple worm. Page 46. 

2. Full grown caterpillar nearly % inch long without an anal 

fork, mining in the fruit, (fig. 40). 

2. Codling Moth. Page 47. 
Full-grown mottled caterpillar, 1V2 inches long eating into 
the fruit. Mottled fruit caterpillar. Page 24. 

Legless maggots or grubs. 

3. Very small slender white maggots mining in the flesh of the 

apple leaving brownish tracks. 

3. Apple maggot or railroad worm. Page 49. 

4. A small white grub mining in the very small wind falls in 

early summer (fig. 25). 4. Plum curculio. Page 51. 

Mature insects with wings and legs. 

4. A gnarled blackish snout beetle with dusky reddish markings, 

puncturing the fruit, (fig. 27). 

4. Plum curculio. Page 51. 

5. A flat yellowish mottled bug with slender beak ; ovipositing 

in and deforming the fruit, (fig. 28). 

5. Tarnished plant bug. Page 53. 

6. A long legged yellowish brown beetle feeding on fruit. 

(fig. 18). Rose chafer. Page 38. 



*The anal fork can only be seen with a high power microscope, the 
larva being slightly compressed between cover glass and slide. 



i. Lesser Apple Worm. 
( Enarmonia prunivora. ) 
The larva feeds upon the apple in a manner similar to that 
of the codling moth, for which it is doubtless frequently mis- 
taken. Besides by its smaller size the larva may be distin- 
guished from that of the codling moth by the presence of the 
anal fork. The adult moth expands about ^s of an inch across 
the wing. The ground color of the front wings is black, with 
patches of pale rusty red, of gray, and of yellowish white and 
steel blue oblique lines. The hind wings are dusky gray at the 
base, shading to black at the apex. 



47 

REMEDIES. 

The insect may be combated by spraying used against the 
codling moth. 

2. The Codling Moth. 

(Carpocapsa pomonella L.) 

The codling moth passes the winter in the larval stage in 
silken cocoons in cracks and holes in the trees and in houses 
where apples have been stored. In the spring these larvae 
change to pupae, and the moths emerge about a month after the 
apple is in blossom. 

The moth (fig. 40, a) varies somewhat in size, but the maxi- 
mum spread of its wings is about three-fourths of an inch. 
The front wings are of a brownish gray color and are crossed 
with lines of gray scales, giving them the appearance of watered 
silk. At the tips of the wings there is a large brown spot, in 
which are many scales of bronze or gold. The hind wings are 
grayish brown in color. The moth lays her eggs, a few days 
after emergence, on the leaves of apple or other food plant, or 
on the fruit. A majority of the eggs of the first generation 
are laid on the leaves, while the greater part of those of the 
second generation are laid upon the fruit. 

A large number of the larvae which hatch from eggs deposited 
on the leaves eat small portions of the leaves before finding 
fruit. The larva, living most of its life within the fruit, throws 
out through its entrance hole, which it enlarges from time to 
time, or through its exit hole in the side of the fruit, the char- 
acteristic mass of frass or excrement which is the sign of infes- 
tation. 

The larvae have some difficulty in entering the smooth sides 
of the fruit, and about 80 per cent of the first generation enter 
by way of the calyx, while the majority of the second genera- 
tion enter at the sides, especially where the fruits are touching. 

Before entering the young apple the larva feeds, as noted, 
on the leaves, but also for a day or two within the partial con- 
cealment formed by the calyx or blossom end of the apple. 
During several days, therefore, the little apple worms feed 
externally, both before they enter the calyx and within the 
latter, and the object of spraying is to insure their being poi- 



48 

soned by thoroughly coating in advance, with an arsenical mix- 
ture, the leaves, and especially the blossom end of every fruit, 
before the shutting up of the lobes of the calyx. Most of the 
larvae enter the calyx after it is closed, and are then beyond the 
reach of any poison later applied. 

The pinkish larva lives in the fruit about twenty days, and 
grows to a length of about five-eighths of an inch (fig. 40) 
when, being full fed, it makes a tunnel to the outside of the 
fruit, the entrance of which is filled with frass and silk. When 
ready to leave the apple this plug is pushed out. The larva 
then crawls out and immediately seeks a place in which to spin 
its cocoon. 

Cocoons have been observed in the following places : In 
holes and cracks in the trunks and branches of the trees; under 
rough bark; in the fruits (though rarely); in the cracks in 
the ground around the tree ; on or between the clods among 
the fallen fruit ; under bands or anything else resting on or 
against the tree ; in cracks and angles of the walls and roof of 
the building in which apples are stored ; under shingles of 
buildings near apple trees ; in fence posts and under pickets of 
nearby fences ; in paper or other rubbish on the ground ; and 
in various other places. The cocoons of the first generation 
are composed entirely of silk, while in those of the second 
generation are incorporated bits of wood and bark. The larvae 
inside the cocoons transform into pupa? in about six days from 
the time of spinning the cocoon. 

In about twenty days from the spinning of the cocoon the 
pupal skin splits and the moth emerges (fig. 40, a), lays its 
eggs, and gives rise to another generation. 

MEASURES USED AGAINST THE CODLING MOTH. 

An arsenical spray (Formula 3) immediately after the blos- 
soms have fallen should be used and repeated 7 to 10 days 
later. Use burlap bands on trunks, killing all insects under 
them every 10 days from July 1 to August 15, and once later 
before winter. 



49 



3. Apple Maggot or Railroad Worm. 
(Rhagolctis pomonella.) 

The adult stage of the apple maggot is a fly, a little smaller 
than the house-fly and readily distinguished by four dark 
irregular bands across the wings ; these are found in the apple 
orchards from about July first until frost. During this time 
the females are employed laying eggs, by piercing the skin of 
the apple with a sting-like ovipositor and leaving at each in- 
cision one egg buried in the pulp. Each female is capable of 
laying at least three or four hundred eggs. 

From these eggs hatch apple maggots which tunnel through 
the pulp where they feed until full grown. The maggots are 
small, plump, white objects without legs and with head so ill 
defined that it is difficult to find it at all. The mouth parts are 
reduced to a pair of rasping hooks. The apple maggot works 
in soft discolored mushy trails anywhere in the pulp. The trails 
of the apple maggot never contain little round sawdust-like 
pellets. Often their tunnels lie directly beneath the skin of 
the apple, showing through in the light colored varieties as dark 
trailing tracks which have won for the apple maggot the pop- 
ular name of Railroad Worm (fig. 44). But, though the mag- 
got frequently comes near the surface of the apple, it never 
breaks through the skin until it is through feeding and is tints 
always protected, a circumstance which shows clearly that it is 
of no use to try to destroy this pest by spraying. 

When the eggs are laid, the apples are young and hard and 
for some time the maggots grow very slowly. At this stage 
the tunnels are very- inconspicuous and the maggots themselves 
are not likely to be detected except by careful search. As the 
apple matures, the maggot makes more and more headway and 
is frequently full grown by the time the apple is ripe (fig. 43). 
Moreover the presence of the maggots seem to hasten the de- 
velopment of the apples and much of the infested fruit comes 
to the ground as windfalls. This is the reason so much stress 
is laid on the destruction of windfalls to get rid of the maggot. 

Since the flies are so long on the wing and lay their eggs 
over such an extended time, the full grown maggots are found 
at different periods. The first eggs are laid naturally in the 
early fruit and accordingly as soon as August tenth full grown 



50 

maggots have been recorded in Early Harvests. On the other 
hand, some of the later maggots, from eggs laid in harder 
winter varieties, do not acquire their full size until late in the 
fall or winter. These are the maggots that are stored with 
the fruit. 

The full grown maggots bore out of the windfalls and bury 
themselves an inch or less in the ground. Or, if they are in 
gathered fruit where they cannot find a suitable burying ground, 
they creep away beneath some protecting object instead. Soon 
after leaving the apple (sometimes the transformation takes 
place within the apple but not often) the maggots shrink a little 
in length and bulge a little in thickness, the skin at the same 
time growing tougher and slightly darker. The insect is known 
in this form as the pupa, and rests in this stage all winter. 
With the return of summer a second transformation takes place 
when the tough skin which has covered the pupa all winter is 
broken open by the adult insect (a fly with dark bands on its 
wings) which has developed inside the pupal case. This mature 
fly spends its life laying eggs in the flesh of young apples, thus 
starting a new generation of apple maggots. 

The maggot, pupa, and adult fly are shown in the accompany- 
ing illustration, enlarged about 3 times. (Fig. 24). 




Maggot. Fly. Pupa. 

Fig. 24. 
The apple maggot enlarged 3 times. 

PREVENTATIVE MEASURES. 
As pointed out here, it is useless to try to poison the growing 
maggots as they are within and protected by the apple. It is 
also evident that if the maggots contained in windfalls and 
picked fruit are destroyed one year there will be no trouble to 
fear from them the next. Of course it is highly improbable 
that even by the greatest vigilance, every maggot could be thus 
destroyed. But when it is considered that each maggot left to 
its own devices has a chance of becoming a fly capable of lay- 



5i 

ing at least three hundred eggs, and that each maggot unde- 
stroyed this year may mean three or four hundred next year, 
the importance of killing as many as possible is evident. If the 
apple maggots, as do many insects, all developed about the 
same time, the problem would be much simpler, but as full 
grown maggots are found in apples from before the middle of 
August until into the winter, the watch for them must extend 
over several months. 

If enough hogs or sheep to eat the windfalls are kept under 
infested trees from the second week in August until the fruit 
is finally gathered, all the maggots in windfalls will be got rid 
of. Of course the same results, as far as destroying the mag- 
got is concerned, can be obtained by having windfalls faithfully 
gathered during this time and fed to stock, or made into cider. 

In one orchard where the main crop is not sweet fruit, a plan 
of baiting for the apple maggot has proven successful. A few 
Tolman sweet trees are grown in the orchard as traps. The 
flies deposit the majority of eggs in these sweet apples by 
preference, and the other fruit is saved to a great extent. All 
of the Tolman sweet apples, in this, case, are gathered and 
destroyed. 

4. Plum Curcuuo. 
(Conotrachelus nenuphar.) . 

At about the time in early spring when vegetation resumes 
activity and buds begin to push, curculios, which have hiber- 
nated under rubbish on the ground, under the rough bark of 
trees and in other secure hiding places, emerge from conceal- 
ment and seek the fruit plants upon which they feed and breed. 
About the time the trees bloom, mating begins and as soon as 
the young fruit enlarges the deposition of eggs begins. Apples 
no larger than small peas often bear from I to 3 of the char- 
acteristic crescent marks made by the curculio. These punc- 
tures as well as those made by the adult beetle in feeding cause 
a serious deformation of the fruit (fig. 45). The deposition of 
eggs goes on most rapidly during the month of June, but con- 
tinues through July and August, gradually growing less and 
less as the beetles die. The majority of the beetles of this gen- 
eration do not live beyond the month of July, but a few may 
survive until September, or in rare instances until la^e fall. 



52 

During the season both males and females feed upon the same 
fruits in which eggs are deposited, making small, usually cyl- 
indrical punctures. The eggs hatch in from 4 to 6 days and 
the young larvae start tortuous burrows through the fruit. De- 
velopment of the larvae causes the fruit to fall within a few 
days. In about 20 days the larvae mature, cease feeding, bore 
out of the fruit, and at once enter the ground where they com- 
plete their transformations and in about 28 days emerge as 
perfect beetles. (Figs. 25, 26, 27). The newly emerged beetles 
usually remain quiet for a day or two, allowing the body wall, 
beak and jaws to harden; then they fly into the trees and begin 
feeding upon the fruit. Beetles of this new generation do not 
( except possibly in rare cases) pair and no eggs are laid during 
this first season. The fruit is freely punctured for feeding 
purposes and the amount of this work increases as the season 
advances. It is this feeding of the new generation that causes 
the greatest injury to the fruit crop. (See fig. 45). Feeding 
continues as long as fruit remains upon the trees. Late in the 
fall the beetles leave the trees and hide away in secure places 
for the long winter period of hibernation. Such in brief is the 
lite history of the plum curculio. 

Another curculio known as the Apple curculio is smoother 
and has a longer snout. This species has not been recorded 
from Maine. 

REMEDIAL MEASURES. 

Destruction of fallen fruit is one of the chief means of com- 
bating this pest. Where hogs are pastured in the orchard 
with a view to devouring apple maggots in fallen fruit the cur- 
culios would be incidentally disposed of. The recommenda- 
tions that fallen fruit be destroyed commonly conveys no idea 
of the first fallen apples. The mind turns to the tangible fruits 
of midsummer and fall, and where the recommendation is fol- 
lowed the small apples that fall in early summer -are entirely 
ignored. The same small apples are, however, an important 
factor, and should be considered in any systematic attempt to 
c.iil I'd the ravages of the plum curculio. 



53 






Fig. 25. Larva (enlarged). 
Fig. 26. 



Fig. 2j. 
Pupa (enlarged). 



Adult (enlarged). 



It does not seem possible for an apple one-fourth inch or 
less in diameter to supply nourishment enough to bring a larva 
to full maturity, but it has been learned that larvae can and do 
develop in just such apples. To gather them would be imprac- 
ticable, but if clean culture is practiced they and the larvae they 
contain could be largely destroyed by use of the disk harrow 
or some other tool that would chop them up or bury them. If 
the ground is clean and the orchard sufficiently open, so that 
the sun can shine upon the apples as they lie upon the ground, 
nothing further is necessary, because direct sunlight upon the 
apples will kill the contained larvae. Superficial tillage of the 
surface soil can be commended as an effective method of at- 
tacking curculio. This tillage should be carried on continu- 
ously or at frequent intervals for a period of from 30 to 40 
clays, during which the great bulk of the new crop of plum cur- 
culios is in the ground. The object of tillage is to turn the 
pupae out, kill some in the process, and expose the rest to the 
elements and to birds and insects that prey upon them. 



5. Tarnished Plant-Bug. 
(Lygus prate usis.) 

This insect is a very destructive one, and injuriously affects 
a large number of cultivated plants. It passes the winter in the 
perfect state, taking shelter among rubbish, or in other con- 
venient" hiding-places, and early in May, as soon as vegetation 
starts, it begins its depredations. 

These insects are partial to the unopened buds, piercing them 
from the outside and sucking them nearly dry, which causes 
them to become withered and blackened. Sometimes a whole 
branch will be thus affected, being first stunted, then withering 
and finally dying. This insect also causes serious deformation of 



54 



the fruit both by feeding and egg-laying punctures. Early in 
the morning these plant-bugs are in a sluggish condition, and 
may be found hidden in the expanding leaves ; but as the day 
advances and the temperature rises, they become active, and 
when approached dodge quickly about from place to place, drop 
to the ground, or else take wing and fly away. In common 
with most true bugs, they have when handled a disagreeable 
odor. In the course of two or three weeks they disappear, or 
cease to be sufficiently injurious to attract attention. 




Fig. 28. (After Chittenden). Enlarged. 



The mature bug (fig. 28, a) is about one-fifth of an inch long, 
and exceedingly variable in color and markings, ranging from 
a dull brown to a greenish or yellowish-brown. In a typical 
specimen the head is yellowish, with three narrow reddish 
stripes ; the beak is about one-third the length of the body, and 
is folded upon the breast when not in use. The prothorax has 
a yellow margin and several longitudinal yellowish lines ; be- 
hind the prothorax, upon the scutellum, is a yellow V-shaped 
mark ; the wings are dusky brown, with a pale cuneus and black 
point at the apex ; the legs are dull yellow. The immature in- 
sects are greenish; if a little older they possess a pair of lound 
black dots on the back of the thorax, another pair on the scu- 
tellum, and a single dot on the abdomen. 



COMBATATIVE MEASURES. 

Since these insects hibernate among rubbish of all kinds, 
clean culture is very important. By clean culture is understood 
the removal of all litter from fence corners, so as to take away 
the shelters in which the insect winters. When they appear 
in spring the plants upon which they are should be shaken early 
in the morning, while the bugs are still in a torpid condition, 
making them fall upon a sheet underneath, and then destroying 



55 

them. As soon as it becomes warm the insects are exceedingly 
active, and so swift in all their motions that they cannot be cap- 
tured. 

BENEFICIAL INSECTS. 
(Adapted from Packard.) 

In a great variety of ways certain insects are helpful to man, 
and are especially efficacious either in insuring his crops or in 
destroying those insects which would otherwise devour them. 

Pollcniccrs of Fruit-trees. — A very important part in the pro- 
duction of abundant crops of fruit is played by bees and other 
honey- or nectar-gatherers, and pollen-feeding insects. It is 
now generally acknowledged that bees, especially the honey- 
bee, act as "marriage-priests" in the fertilization of flowers, 
conveying pollen from flower to flower, and thus insuring the 
"setting" of the fruit. Many wasps, as well as butterflies and 
moths, species of pollen-eating beetles, thrips, and other in- 
sects, by unconsciously bearing pollen from distant flowers, 
prevent too close in-and-in breeding. Indeed, as Goethe said, 
flowers and insects were made for each other. Many plants 
would not bear seeds did not insects fertilize them. Insects are 
in the first place attracted to flowers by their sweet scent and 
bright colors, and it is claimed that the lines and circles on the 
corolla of certain flowers guide them to the nectary; though 
we do not see why the scent is not in the main sufficient for 
this purpose. According to Sir John Lubbock, "The visits of 
insects are of great importance to plants in transferring the 
pollen from the stamens to the pistil. In many plants the sta- 
mens and pistil are situated in separate flowers : and even in 
those cases where they are contained in the same flower, self- 
fertilization is often rendered difficult or impossible ; sometimes 
by the relative position of the stamens and pistil, sometimes by 
their not coming to maturity at the same time. Under these 
circumstances the transference of the pollen from the stamens 
to the pistil is effected in various ways. In some species the 
pollen is carried by the action of the wind; in some few cases, 
by birds; but in the majority, this important object is secured 
by the visits of insects, and the whole organization of such 
flowers is adapted to this purpose." 



56 

Parasitic Insects (Ichneumons and Tachincc). — While insec- 
tivorous birds accomplish much towards reducing the numbers 
of injurious insects, they often as likely as not eat the beneficial 
as well as the destructive kinds. Without doubt the leading 
factor in preventing the undue increase of noxious insects are 
the parasitic kinds belonging to certain dipterous and hymenop- 
terous families. 

An ichneumon-fly (figs. 46-49) lays its eggs either on the 
outside of the caterpillar or bores under its skin inserting an 
egg within the body. The larva of the ichneumon upon hatch- 
ing works its way into the interior of the host. Here it does 
not injure the muscles, nerves, or the vital parts of the cater- 
pillar, but apparently simply lies motionless in the body-cavity, 
absorbing the blood of its host. 

Tachina (Senometopia) militaris has been observed by Riley 
to lay from one to six eggs on the skin of the army-worm, "fas- 
tening them by an insoluble cement on the upper surface of the 
two or three first rings of the body." The young maggots on 
hatching penetrate within the body of the caterpillar, and, lying 
among the internal organs, absorb the blood of their host, caus- 
ing it finally to weaken and die. Sometimes but a single mag- 
got lives in its host. Many grasshoppers as well as caterpillars 
are destroyed by them. 

Insectivorous Insects. — There are very many carnivorous 
kinds which devour insects entire. Such are the ground-beetles 
(fig. 51), water-beetles, the larvae of Tenebrionids and of lady- 
beetles (Coccinella) (figs. 52, 53), and those of the lace-winged 
flies (Chrysopa) which prey on Aphids, though the maggots 
of the Syrphus flies are more abundant and efficacious as Aphis- 
destroyers. 

Practical Application. — When the life of an injurious insect 
is carefully studied, it is frequently found that the pest can be 
combated by breeding and distributing its natural parasitic and 
predaceous enemies. For a most remarkable example of such 
an undertaking it is only necessary to mention the work of the 
U. S. Government and Massachusetts against the Gypsy Moth. 
For current accounts of this work the reader is referred to the 
Annual Reports of the Mass. State Forester, and publications 
of the U. S. Bureau of Entomolosv. 



57 



GENERAL TREATMENT FOR APPLE ORCHARDS. 

While the enemies of the apple are numerous and varied, by 
far the larger part of them may readily be held in check by 
spraying with the more common insecticides and fungicides, and 
often, by a combination of materials, several enemies may be 
met with one application. There should, however, be a definite 
purpose in view for every application. The mere fact of spray- 
ing is not enough. It is important that the orchardist know 
why and how, and when to spray or otherwise combat his ene- 
mies. Beneficial insects should be recognized when seen, and 
should be protected and encouraged. Certain diseases may be 
controlled by spraying: in other cases diseased parts must be 
removed and burned. 

The time of spraying will depend upon the purpose in view, 
but in no case should spraying be done when the plants are in 
full bloom. Spraying at this time will often interfere with the 
fertilization of the flowers, and consequently reduce the crop of 
fruit, while there is much needless destruction of bees and other 
insects which work upon the flowers. 

Insecticides and fungicides are more effective if applied in a 
liquid rather than in a dry form, since they adhere to the foliage 
better. Sprinkling is not spraying. The best results are ob- 
tained from the use of a fine spray or mist forcibly applied to 
the foliage ; and so far as possible, it should reach the under 
side of the leaves. A fine mist is preferable to a coarse spray, 
as there is much less waste of material and much less danger of 
injury to the foliage. A single dash of the mist is better than 
continued soaking, as in the latter case the material gathers in 
drops and runs off or injures the foliage. 

The treatment of apple trees at various times during the sea- 
son and the purpose of the same may be briefly stated as fol- 
lows : 

A. Lime-Sulphur wash (Formula 7), before buds begin to 
swell. For oyster shell bark louse or San Jose scale. 

B. Tanglefoot, smear on bands of tarred paper about the 
trees early in spring. For canker worm. 

C. Bordeaux mixture and Paris screen or lead arsenate 



58 

(Formula 8 or 9), as soon as the buds open, before blossoming. 
For apple scab, leaf blight, rot; and for bud moth, canker worm, 
tent caterpillar and forest caterpillar. 

D. Bordeaux mixture and Paris green or lead arsenate 
(Formula 8 or 9), as soon as the blossoms have fallen. For 
scab, leaf blight, rot, canker worm, tent caterpillar and codling 
moth. 

E. Repeat D after about two weeks. Omit E if experience 
in your locality warrants it. 

F. Bordeaux mixture (Formula 1), two weeks after the 
last treatment and still again if the season is very wet. For 
scab, leaf blight and rot. 

The tent caterpillar, forest caterpillar and canker worm must 
be met early, (just as soon as they appear), in order that spray- 
ing shall be effective. 

Kerosene emulsion (Formula 4) applied in June, when the 
eggs first hatch, is an effective treatment for oyster shell bark 
lice. It is also destructive to plant lice when these appear. 

In place of the lime wash, treatment with caustic soda (For- 
mula 5) may be used for oyster shell bark louse. 

Culture. 

If the curculio and the apple maggot are present practice 
clean cultivation, plowing about three times during the season, 
beginning in June if the curculio is present or in July if only 
the maggot is troublesome ; the last plowing to be made after 
the fruit is gathered. 

Gathering Windfalls. 
As both the larva of the curculio and of the maggot are found 
in the small apples and later leave these to pupate in the earth, 
it is highly important to rake up frequently all windfalls and 
destroy them. This means not only the larger apples but even 
those which are no larger than a pea. Where sheep or hogs 
are pastured in an orchard the trouble of gathering windfalls 
by hand is avoided. 

Fungous Enemies. 
Fungi can be successfully combated only before the plants 
are attacked.. The more important fungous diseases of the 



59 

apple in Maine which may be controlled wholly or in part by 
spraying are : scab ; black, brown, pink, and bitter, rot ; fly- 
speck and sooty blotch of the fruit, leaf spot, and various forms 
of limb canker. 

Apple scab is one of the most troublesome of the fungous 
diseases in Maine. This is so well known as not to require 
description. Bordeaux mixture (Formula i) is the best gen- 
eral preventive of fungous attack. For apple scab, spray with 
Bordeaux mixture (Formula i) before the buds open; repeat 
as soon as the blossoms fall, and again two or three times during 
the season. 

Materials Used in Fighting Apple Enemies. 

CAUTION: The following formulas are for use on the 
apple. In many cases they are not adapted for more tender 
plants. Keep all poisons carefully labelled and out of the reach 
of children and animals. 

FORMULA EOR APPLE SCAB AND OTHER FUNGOUS DISEASES. 

Formula i. bordeaux mixture. 

Copper Sulphate 3 pounds 

Fresh Lime (unslaked) 3 pounds 

Water 50 gallons 

how To prepare bordeaux mixture. 

(To be used the same day as made.) 
The copper sulphate is dissolved and the lime slaked in sep- 
arate vessels. A wooden or earthen vessel must be used for 
the copper sulphate, as it corrodes iron. Each solution should 
then be diluted with half the water and then the cold, dilute 
sulphate and milk of lime solution quickly united and thoroughly 
mixed. Never pour concentrated solutions together. If im- 
practicable to pour the two dilute solutions into the sprayer or 
mixing tank simultaneously, the dilute copper sulphate solu- 
tion should be first placed in the tank and the dilute milk of 
lime solution quickly added with constant stirring. 

Best results are obtained if care is taken to add the water 
slowly to the lime while slaking, but it should not be allowed 
to become dry. The milk of lime must be strained and this is 



6o 



best done while still hot. A brass wire strainer of about 30 
meshes to the inch (No. 50) or a piece of cheesecloth backed 
by common window screen may be used. The best type of 
strainer can be made by nailing together four one-inch boards 
about 7 or 8 inches wide and 12 or 15 inches long making a box 
open at both ends. One end of the box is then cut off at a 
considerable angle leaving one side shorter than the other. 
No. 50 brass wire strainer is tacked on to this end. Two 
cleats are nailed to the other end of the box long enough to 
more than reach across the top of a barrel. When placed on 
top of a barrel with the wire bottom down all the solid particles 
from the solution are washed to the lower side of the screen, 
thus avoiding clogging the whole surface. 

HOW TO PREPARE BORDEAUX MIXTURE. 

(Stock solutions which may be kept indefinitely.) 
The most convenient method of preparing Bordeaux mixture 
is to make stock solutions. For this purpose suspend 50 pounds 
of copper sulphate in a bag near the top of a 50-gallon barrel 
and fill with water. This should dissolve over night. In an- 
other 50-gallon barrel slake 50 pounds of stone lime, dilute and 
strain and make up to 50 gallons. A gallon of each solution 
ivell stirred with be equivalent to 1 pound of copper sulphate 
or lime as the case may be. For a 50-gallon tank of mixture 
the stock solutions should be thoroughly stirred and then 3 
gallons of each dipped out, diluted and mixed as described 
above. 

Although the solutions will keep while separate, they should 
not be combined until the day they are to be used. 

Air-slaked lime should never be used in making Bordeaux 
Mixture. 

FORMULAS POR INSECTS WHICH CHEW. 

Formula 2. paris green. 

1 '.-iris Green }i pound 

Lime (unslaked ) 3 pounds 

Water 50 gallons* 

The standard remedy for the destruction of insects which eat 
the foliage or fruit. The lime is added to prevent the Paris 
green from burning the foliage. Slake the lime in a little water. 



6i 

make into a thin paste and strain. Wet the Paris green with 
a little water and make into a thin paste. Mix the lime and 
Paris green and add the remainder of the water. 

Formula 3. lead arsenate. 

Lead Arsenate or Disparene 2 pounds 

Water 50 gallons* 

Arsenate of lead acts slower as a poison than Paris green. 
It has the advantage, however, of remaining longer in suspen- 
sion in water, of not burning the foliage and of adhering better 
than Paris green. Make a smooth thin paste with the poison 
and a little water and add the remainder of the water and stir 
thoroughly. In our own practice this is preferred to Formula 
2. It is excellent for canker worm on elm trees. 



FORMULAS FOR INSECTS WHICH SUCK. 

Formula 4. kerosene emulsion. 

Hard Soap y 2 pound 

Boiling Water 1 gallon 

Kerosene 2 gallons 

To prepare, dissolve one-half pound of soap in one gallon 
of soft water by boiling; when well dissolved and still boiling 
hot, remove from the fire and add two gallons of kerosene, and 
agitate at once as briskly as possible. The emulsion is more 
readily made if the kerosene first be heated by immersing the 
vessel containing it in a larger vessel of boiling water. Never 
heat the kerosene over a direct fire. 

If large quantities are being made, a good way to emulsify 
is to use a force pump and spraying nozzle and pump the mix- 
ture as forcefully as possible back into the vessel containing it. 
If the emulsion is properly formed, the whole mass will appear 
much like whipped cream and will mix readily in water without 
a film of oil rising to the top. 

As soon as emulsified, add twenty-seven gallons of water and 
use at once. This will make thirty gallons of the mixture, and 
such an emulsion will be one-fifteenth oil (or a 7% emulsion). 

*An ordinary oil barrel holds about 50 gallons. This amount is suffi- 
cient for 15 to 25 trees. 



62 

This is the strength ordinarily used for the destruction of in- 
sects upon plants. For larger or smaller quantities, prepare 
in the same proportions. 

Sometimes the emulsion is not perfect and a little oil rises 
to the top. In such cases, if the last in the barrel or tank is 
pumped out upon the foliage, it is likely to burn it. So it is 
advisable, unless the emulsion is of good quality, to throw out 
the last few gallons, making no use of it. 

It is best to dilute and apply kerosene emulsion as soon as it 
is prepared. 

Avoid using alkali or any hard water in making the emul- 
sion, as it will cause the oil to separate and rise to the top. Any 
clean, soft water will usually give good results. 

Formula 5. misciblL oils. 
There are several miscible oils upon the market which may 
be added directly to water forming a milky emulsion at once. 
In the preparation of any of these, such as "Scalecide," or 
"Target Brand Scale Destroyer" or "Killoscale," add the oil 
directly to the water with a little stirring. One gallon of the 
miscible oil in 30 to 50 gallons of water will make a mixture, 
which in most cases will be strong enough to kill plant lice, if 
thoroughly applied. 

Formula 6. whall-oil or fish-oil soaps. 
The so-called whale-oil or fish-oil soaps which are quite 
extensively used for the destruction of plant lice, will usually 
be effective if thoroughly applied in the proportion of one pound 
of the soap to each six or eight gallons of water. There are 
numerous brands of these soaps upon the market. Among 
those that have been used quite successfully are Good's Whale- 
Oil Soap and Bowker's Tree Soap. 

Formula 7. soap solution. 

AYashing Powder y 2 pound 

Water 3 gallons 

The soap dissolves readily in the water. 

Formula 8. tobacco decoction. 

Tobacco stems or tobacco dust 2 pounds 

Water 4 gallons 



63 

Put the tobacco in the water, enough to cover, which may be 
either cold or hot. Place over the fire and when the water has 
reached the boiling point, remove some of the fire and allow 
the water to simply simmer for fully one hour, when the liquid 
is ready to be drained off, diluted to the above proportions and 
applied. Boiling violently drives off the nicotine. 

If whole-leaf tobacco is used, prepare as above, using one 
pound of tobacco to each four gallons of water. 

No lime or other alkaline substance should be added to the 
tobacco while cooking. Apply at once, or within a few days 
after making if possible. 

Black Leaf. — There is nothing to do in the preparation of 
Black Leaf except to thoroughly stir the contents of the can 
before pouring out any quantity for dilution. In most cases 
one gallon of the Black Leaf will be found sufficient for each 
seventy gallons of water. But if in the treatment of any louse 
this does not seem sufficient it may be used in proportion of 
one gallon to sixty or sixty-five gallons of water. Careful 
sprayers have usually succeeded in killing plant lice with this 
preparation in the proportion of one gallon to each one hun- 
dred gallons of water. Thoroughness of application is of as 
much importance as the strength of the material used. 

Formula 9. caustic soda. 

Caustic Soda 1 ounce 

Water 2 gallons 

The soda dissolves readily and may be used in any amount 
desired: It is a strong caustic, however, and must be used with 
care, and only when the trees are dormant. 

Formula 10. lime, sulphur wash. 

(For winter spray only.) 

Flowers of Sulphur 15 pounds 

Good Lump Lime 15 pounds 

AYater 45 gallons 

This is the 1 1-3 lime-sulphur mixture. First slake the lump 
lime with sufficient warm water, and while still boiling hot add 
the sulphur and stir it in. Place over fire and continue the 
boiling, adding water when necessary, until the mixture changes 



6 4 

to a deep reddish brown color which indicates that the lime has 
cut the sulphur. It will be necessary to boil steadily for about 
forty minutes to one hour to produce this result. The mixture 
should then be diluted to form forty-five gallons of the spray, 
and should be applied at once. 

When the lime-sulphur mixture is placed in the barrel or tank 
it should be strained to take out all lumps that would clog the 
spray nozzle. If allowed to stand for any great length of time 
after being prepared, the lime-sulphur crystalizes out to a con- 
siderable extent. In such a case it is necessary to heat the mix- 
ture again before applying so as to dissolve all the crystals. If 
the crystals are re-dissolved the mixture will be as strong as 
before. 

Commercial Lime-Sulphur JJ'aslics. 
There are a number of commercial brands of concentrated 
preparations of lime-sulphur on the market. Some of these 
are excellent and of uniform composition, others are wholly 
unreliable. 

formulas for combined insecticides and fungicides. 

Make a smooth paste of the poisons and a little water, add to 
the Bordeaux mixture and stir thoroughly. Apply at once. 

Formula n. 

Paris Green J / 2 pound 

Bordeaux Mixture 50 gallons* 

Formula 12. 

Lead Arsenate or Disparene 1 pound 

Bordeaux Mixture 50 gallons* 

How to Spray. 

Spraying is an effective method of securing perfect fruit and 
healthy foliage. To obtain the best results, insecticides and 
fungicides must be applied forcibly in the form of a fine mist, 
not in coarse drops lightly sprinkled over the foliage. Inas- 



*An ordinary oil barrel holds about 50 gallons. This amount is suffi- 
cient for 15 to 25 trees. 



65 

much as spraying' is a preventive measure (not a cure) the 
whole surface of the tree must be covered. In large orchards 
three men can usually work to advantage, — one to drive the 
team and work the pump, the others to handle the nozzles. 

THE APPARATUS. 

The necessary apparatus consists of a force pump, with two 
lines of hose, nozzles, a barrel or tank for holding the spraying 
mixture, and a wagon for carrying all. 

The Pump: The pump should be large enough to easily 
supply two lines of discharge hose and to develop a pressure of 
at least 60 pounds to the square inch. It should also have a 
good agitator. The small bucket pumps and knapsack sprayers 
do very well for a few trees in the garden, but for field work 
they are unsatisfactory. All parts of the pump that are sub- 
ject to wear should be made of brass and should be carefully 
adjusted. The pump and all other apparatus should be thor- 
oughly washed every time after using. 

The Hose: Two pieces of ^-inch hose or better, of ^-inch 
double insertion hose, fifty feet long, are needed, if the opera- 
tors are to stand on the ground. In case a raised platform is 
built above the wagon, twenty-five feet of hose in each line will 
be sufficient. For very tall trees a bamboo extension rod is 
preferred to an extra long piece of hose. 

The \o::j:Ic: There are many good nozzles, but the best tried 
at the Experiment Station, is the Yermorel, sold by most dealers 
in spraying apparatus. The Yermorel throws a finer spray 
than the others, but is easily clogged unless the spraying mix- 
ture is carefully strained through cheese-cloth or a fine wire 
screen before using. 

The Barrel: A kerosene barrel, holding about fifty gallons, 
is a convenient tank. A small opening should be made in which 
to place the pump, and another, larger one, through which to fill 
the tank and stir the mixture. 

The Wagon: Any low wagon, or even a dump-cart will 
answer the purpose. For convenience in turning, a two-wheeled 
cart is to be preferred. For tall trees, if not planted too close 
together, a high platform built over the hind end of the wagon, 
on which the operators may stand, will be found useful. 



66 



REFERENCES TO LITERATURE ON APPLE INSECTS. 

a. CIRCULARS AND BULLETINS FROM THE MAINE AGRICULTURAL 

EXPERIMENT STATION.* 

Circular. Red-Humped Caterpillar. 

Yellow-edge or Mourning Cloak Butterfly. 

Yellow-neck Caterpillar. 

Cecropia Moth. 

Tent Caterpillar. 

Forest Tent Caterpillar. 

Tussock Moth. 

Brown-Tail Moth. 

Apple Maggot or Railroad Worm. 

Plum Curculio. 

Tiger Swallow-tail Butterfly. 

Sphinx Chersis and other Hawk Moths. 

Fall Web Worm. 

Tiger Moths. 

Bud Moths. 

Io Moth. 

Two Scale Insects of Maine. 
Bulletin 161. Saddled Prominent. 

b. CIRCULARS AND BULLETINS OE THE UNITED STATES DEPART- 

MENT OF AGRICULTURE.** 

Circular 7. Bureau of Entomology. Pear-tree Psylla. 
9. " " Canker Worms. 

11. " " " Rose Chafer. 

20. " " " Woolly Aphis of the 

Apple. 
26. " " " Pear Slug. 

29. " " " Fruit-tree Bark-beetle. 

32. Larger Apple-tree Bor- 

ers. 



*These may be secured free of charge by applying to "Maine Agricul- 
tural Experiment Station, Orono, Maine." 

**These may be secured free of charge by applying to the U. S. De- 
partment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 



6 7 

Circular 42. Bureau of Entomology. How to Control the 

San Jose Scale. 
81. " " " Aphids Affecting the 

Apple. 
98. " " " Apple-tree Tent Cater- 

pillar. 
Farmers' Bulletin 127. Bu. of Ent. Important Insecticides. 

264. " " " Brown-tail Moth and How 

to Control It. 
275. " " " Gypsy Moth and How to 
Control It. 



68 




Apple Aphids and Work. 

FiGS. 30-33 ('.rem apple-aphis; 30, Winter eggs; 31, Winged form; 
$2, Wingless form; 33, Leaf curl caused by Apple-aphis; 34, Woolly 
aphis, wingless form; 35, Knotty root caused by Woolly aphis. 
(Figs. 30-33 after Quaintance; 34- 35 after Marlatt). 




WINTER STAGES 
Photographed from Maine specimens. Fig. 36, Eggs from which Tent 
Caterpillars hatch. Fig. 37, Cocoon of Cecropia Moth. Fig. 38, Winter 
nest of Brown-tail Moth. Fig. 39- Eggs of the antique Tussock Moth on 
cocoon. 




APPLES INJURED BY INSECTS 
Fig 4 o, Coddling Moth (after Lodeman). Figs. 41, 4*, Apple, eaten 
by Ro. Chafer (photographed July, ,907). Fig «, ^xon of apple 
showing work of apple maggot (Photographed Oct 1907). Fig. 44, 
Hightop with characteristic trail of apple maggot (Photographed Sept, 
^903) Fig- 45, apple deformed by apple curculio ( Photographed July 
ii, 1907)- 




BENEFICIAL INSECTS 
Figs. 46-49, Ichneumon sublatus, parasites bred from pupae of Saddled 
Prominent. Fig. 50, Parasitized specimens of young Red-humped Cater- 
pillars attached to apple leaf and parasites ( Limneria guigardi) which 
emerged from them. Photographed August 29, 1906. Fig. 51, Beetle 
( Ca/osoma fjeeding on Saddled Prominent (Bui. 161 Maine Agr. Exp. 
Sta.) Fig. '52, 53, Lady Beetles, adult and larva, which feed on Aphids 
(After Marlatt.) Fig. 54, Podisus modestus, a bug stabbing the Sad- 
dled Prominent (From Bui. 161 Maine Agr. Exp. Sta.) 




Fig. 55. Mottled Fruit Caterpillar (Crocigrapha Normani). Photographed 
July 10, 1907. 



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